Laura W. Neville

Laura White Neville, M.D., formerly of Cotuit MA and Fayetteville NY, died on Sunday, October 21 at Canterbury Woods Assisted Living in Attleboro MA at the age of 90. She was the wife of Dr. John F. Neville Jr who preceded her in death by three days. Laura was born in Madurai, India, the daughter of Rev. Emmons E. White and Ruth Parker White who were missionaries serving in India. Her Indian name was Packiam which means blessed in Tamil. She was educated in India and Massachusetts, where her parents served during their furloughs. During those years stateside, she formed close friendships with her cousins on both sides and her extended family. She graduated from Kodaikanal School in India, took a post-graduate year at the American College in Madurai before attending Oberlin College (Class of 1943.) At Yale University School of Medicine, where she was one of three women, she met Jack and married him in February 1946, a few months before their graduation. She interned in pediatrics at Bellevue Hospital, NY, before joining Jack in St. Louis. While her husband finished basic training and his residency, Laura worked at several jobs including the post pediatrician at the Army Chemical Center and as Medical Director at the St. Louis County Health Department. After moving to Pittsburgh, she was able to devote herself full-time to raising her five children. In the 1960s and 70s while Jack was working at Upstate Medical Center at Syracuse, Laura went back to work as a Pediatric Consultant at the Children's Center Research Project (the precursor of Headstart), the Cleft Palate Evaluation Unit and as a member of the Pediatric Clinical Staff. By then, Laura had developed an interest in adult issues and decided to pursue a residency in Psychiatry at SUNY Upstate. She was proud that she often had more stamina than her much younger colleagues. She was in private practice as well as serving as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at SUNY until her retirement in 1987. Laura had a rich life outside her professional work not only with her family, but with an ever-growing circle of close friends. Her ability to listen with compassion and to entertain with her own stories has endeared her to many people. She loved word-play, crossword puzzles, community theater, reading, gardening, music, writing and politics. One of the most pivotal moments in her life was her conversion to Catholicism. As she wrote to one of her grandchildren, "My deepest values are God, His Church, relating to the joys, trials, sensitivities of other people and the wonders of creation in every aspect: friendship, nature, music and literature." Laura is survived by her five children, John F. Neville III of Sedona AZ, Margaret N. Holmes of Riverside RI, Robert E. Neville of Mountain View CA, Katherine Neville of Stroudsburg PA, and Nancy Neville of Arlington MA, as well as nine grandchildren, and one great-grandson. Also left behind are her brother and his wife, Stephen and Eleanor White of Sunapee, her sister and her husband, Sakuntala and George Samuel of Beaumont CA, and several cousins, nieces and nephews. Her brother, W. Robinson White, predeceased her. Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend a Memorial Gathering celebrating both Drs. John Francis Neville, Jr. and his wife, Laura (White) Neville, on Friday, June 14, 2013 at 410 East Genesee Street, Fayetteville, New York beginning at 11:30 AM.