John Milford McNeely was born February 25, 1932, at the family farmhouse near Quinlan, OK, to his parents William Dexter McNeely and Sarah Ruth Compton McNeely. John was the youngest of seven siblings including Marge, Neel, Jean, Bruce, W.D., and Mary Lou. He went to be with the Lord on September 12, 2022, at age 90.

John became a follower of Christ in the summer of 1955. His priorities in life were to honor the Lord, to love his family, help others, and to do his best in his work. As a younger man, John had goals to be a coach/teacher, a pilot, and a farm/ranch operator. He taught and coached at Ingalls, KS; Toronto, KS; Vici, OK; and Coldwater, KS. After starting college as a freshman walk-on basketball student-athlete at Oklahoma State University, he enlisted in the United States Air Force during the Korean War and trained as a pilot flying the T-6 trainer plane at Hondo Air Force Base near San Antonio, TX. Thereafter, he enrolled at Northwestern State College and played basketball for three years and football for one year. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Health & Physical Education in 1954 with teaching credentials in Social Science and General Science. During his early coaching and teaching career, John and his family spent summers in Boulder, CO, where he pursued a Master's degree in Kinesiology & Physical Education at the University of Colorado.

At Northwestern, he met the love of his life, Phyllis June McCulla from rural Buttermilk, KS. They married at the Antioch Methodist Church in Buttermilk on December 27, 1953. John and Phyllis were married over 62 years. Phyllis passed on October 26, 2016.

John and Phyllis had four children: Michael, Brian, Jari, and Brent, all born in Dodge City, Kansas. In 2015, Brian preceded the passing of his mother and father. John has thirteen grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. John is survived by children Michael, Jari, and Brent; their spouses Ramona, Mark, and Allison; daughter-in-law Elaine McNeely; his thirteen grandchildren: Danielle, Mariel, Colin, Shaunessy, Jaden, Lorianne, Kaleigh, Britynn, Cayce, Baighlor, Madelin, Brennan, and Melana; his eight great grandchildren, his sister Mary Lou Roedell, his sister-in-law Glenda Jean Weber, and nine nieces and one nephew.

John spent 54 years operating and owning the family farm and ranch eighteen ½ miles south of Coldwater, KS, raising beef cattle and various crops. John and his family were long time members of the Antioch Community Church where he served as an elder and Sunday school teacher.

After Phyllis passed, John sold the family farm and ranch and moved to Auburn, AL, near his youngest son Brent and family. While there, John served as a volunteer in the Auburn University athletic department, taught a Wednesday night Bible study at Monarch Estates, and attended the First Baptist Church, Opelika, AL.

His children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren are thankful and blessed to have John as their dad and grandfather. They are especially grateful for his example as a follower of Christ.  John leaves loving friends, especially in the Buttermilk, Coldwater, and Auburn communities.

Funeral service will be at the Hatfield-Prusa Funeral Home in Coldwater, KS on Saturday, September 24, 2022, at 1 p.m. Viewing times will be from 9-11 a.m. the same day. The burial service will follow the funeral at Crown Hill Cemetery in Coldwater, KS.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to Village Missions in care of Hatfield-Prusa Funeral Home, P.O. Box 417, Coldwater, KS 67029.