Donald Dewitt Neish, Jr.

Donald D. Neish
December 19, 1932 – January 21, 2017

Dr. Donald Neish was born December 19, 1932 in the steel manufacturing town of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. He was educated in the Hopewell Township school district, graduating from Hopewell High School in 1950. He then undertook studies at Grove City College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1954. From there, he traveled to Philadelphia, completing his medical degree at the Temple University School of Medicine in 1958. From 1959 to 1962, he served as a flight surgeon in the U.S. Army, stationed at 6th Army Headquarters, San Francisco, California. Returning to civilian life, he completed 3 years of an internal medicine residency at the E. J. Meyer Memorial Hospital in Buffalo, New York, a hospital affiliated with the SUNY system. He began his medical practice and academic career in 1965, first working for the Group Health Association in Washington, D.C. Subsequently, he held academic appointments at the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins. In 1974, he moved to North Carolina, where he held appointments at Duke University and the University of North Carolina. His experience included the private practice of internal medicine, the supervision of nursing homes as medical director, and the teaching of psychiatric residents at the Dorothea Dix Hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina. He was honored that a son and granddaughter carried on his legacy of medical practice. Throughout his life he maintained an interest in instrumental music, performing on the saxophone in various groups, big band organizations, and community concert bands. He is survived by his wife Florence Neish, his children Cynthia Bechard, Andrew Neish, David Neish, and Laura Neish, and grandchildren Annie Bechard, Juliette Bechard, Gerard Bechard, Emma Neish, Rebecca Neish, Daniel Neish and Randall Neish.