H. Neil Fleisher

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FLORENCE, Ore. - H. Neil Fleisher, 73, of Florence, Ore., went home to be with the Lord Jesus on June 19, 2009, due to complications following open heart surgery.

A celebration of his life will be held tomorrow at 2 p.m. June 25, at Burns's Riverside Chapel Florence Funeral Home. The service will be officiated by McKenzie-Willamette Hospital Chaplain Edward Avila.

Neil was born Feb. 28, 1936, in Lewistown, to Harold and Eva Goss Fleisher. After graduating from Armaugh-Brown High School, he joined the U.S. Air Force on Oct. 4, 1955. He served as an aircraft mechanic at Hahn Air Force Base in Kirchberg, Germany.

Neil met his future wife, Pauline Muldoon, at his father's square-dance hall in Milroy, and they married a year later on April 11, 1961. They moved to Bellefonte to join Neil's father and mother in the opening of a chain of convenience stores.

In 1979, two years after the death of Neil's father, Neil sold the business to his brother and moved his family to Oregon, where they had enjoyed many vacations over the years. They ended up in Florence, Ore., where they stayed for the next ten years.

They opened Bay View Deli in Old Town in 1981, introducing their line of authentic eastern-style hoagies and deli food, while covering the walls with photos of their satisfied customers.

After their children, Chris and Donna, graduated from Siuslaw High School and joined the U.S. Air Force, Neil and Pauline returned to Lewisburg, where they lived for 13 years. In 2004, they decided to move to Baton Rouge, La., to live in the Bluebonnet Towers on the complex of Jimmy Swaggart Ministries.

Mr. Neil, as he was known in the South, worked as a security guard for the ministry and then at the Ketchum Fitness Center, where he loved to welcome his customers bright and early each morning.

With Mr. Neil facing the need for knee-replacement surgery, he and Miss Pauline moved back to Florence to be closer to Chris and Donna in April of 2009. Before his knee replacement surgery could be performed, Neil learned he required a tooth extraction as well as open heart surgery. Though he bravely faced everything that lay ahead, and the doctors did everything they could, after surgery his heart could not be revived.

He is survived by his wife, Pauline; son Christopher and wife, Thess, and daughter Christine; daughter Donna; brother Gary and his wife, Peg, and their son and daughter.

Arrangements were made by Burns's Riverside Chapel Florence Funeral Home. The burial site will be Pacific Sunset Cemetery in Florence, Ore.