Let's Do Some Catching Up - 1st USA Weightlifting Nationals...

June 17,2024:

Tim had an amazing 1st experience at USA Weightlifting Youth Nationals. Only 10 months into the sport and he did Meet PR’s of Snatch 75kg + C&J 95kg = 170kg Total. That’s 6kg above his last Meet Total. 5/6 lifts on the day. He landed in 4th place missing 3rd by 9kg. We are so happy for Tim. Tim made huge gains today. So so proud of how far he’s come in this sport in such a short time. All in all it was a great 1st time out at Nationals.

75kg Snatch

95kg Clean & Jerk

June 20, 2024:

Our Team finished with 5 medals overall and we went 30/36 on lifts (83% make rate) over the USA NATIONALS 2024 week.

We had:

4th place - Eva Young (5/6 on lifts)

25th place - Wakeland Branz (who’s only been with the team a couple of months or so did a great job going 5/6 on his lifts)

4th place - Tim Neal (5/6 on lifts with PR’s)

4th place (CJ) - Ewan McCallum (5/6 on lifts)

2nd place - Chase Overpeck (6/6 on lifts)

4th place (CJ) - Jacob Penner (4/6 on lifts)

I’m not sure who else had PR’s but I’m sure there were others.

CONGRATULATIONS ALWCon your OUTSTANDING JOB!!! We look forward to seeing everyone’s improvements as they continue to grow in this sport.

Tim will be getting back to work on Monday!

Youth Nationals is on the 17th for Tim...

Tim is so excited for his first Weightlifting Nationals soon.  He has learned so much and grown so much in this sport in such a short period of time.  He's not even a year into the sport yet.  We are hoping and praying for gains at this National Meet for him.  Currently he's got a 10th place ranking and he's looking to come up in the rankings at this Meet.  He's hoping to make Meet PR's at this Meet too.  This sport is so supportive of the athletes.  We can't wait to get there and watch his teammates as they compete.  

Tim's Schedule...

Tim's current schedule that is always subject to change at a moments notice.

The only thing missing is that he won't be able to tell Pop about all that he's doing.  We told him that Pop has a front row seat to seeing everything he's doing now though.  And he gets the added bonus of doing so in a perfected body.  It's the first time in so very long that he's been without pain.  It blesses my heart to know that.  

Celebration of Life Service for Pop...

The celebration of life service was so sweet.  For the first time in my life I got to see what a service looks like when someone has lived a long life and outlived a good portion of their family and friends.  The visitation hours were great and the service was family only.  As time goes by and we go up for visits it will hit us more and more.  I'm so glad that he lived such a long life but his absence will be felt everywhere.  Nan looked beautiful though.

Scot and Tim with Pops Flag.  Pop was a Vet.

Pop loved cars!  Even from a young age!

 Pop at a Soapbox Derby!

Pop was a looker.

I'm so glad that the family took the time to do a service that honored such a great man in such a great way.  

Thoughts and more Pics of Pop...

I was just thinking today about how Tim has been asked to be called Tim now.  To me he's always been my Timmy, T or Timothy.  Then it occurred to me that the first person to ever call him Tim was Popsie.  Popsie started calling him Tim long before any of the rest of us did.  He's at the age now where Timmy is a little boys name and he wants more of a grown name so Tim it is.  Life is strange at times.  I hadn't even thought about any of that until today.  I've still been putting together the video for the Celebration of Life service so random thoughts just pop into my mind.  I wanted to share some more pictures with you though so let's do that:

Disney World 2014

Tim's 1st Time at Disney World 2011

Tim's TaeKwonDo Black Belt Graduation.

Pop at Armco where he worked for 41 years.

Tim's Outfit for Pop's Celebration of Life Service...

With Tim doing Olympic Weightlifting now it has become a challenge to find pants that fit him because of how large (muscularly) his thighs and butt are from weightlifting.  This is what we put together though and Tim looks really good in it.  Added bonus is that he's wearing one of Pop's hats.  

Tim really looks fantastic in Pop's hat.  He can really pull off the look quite well.  He loved his Popsie so much.  He was always so incredibly supportive of all that Tim ever did.  Tim knew how much he loved him and how proud he was of him all the way up until his finally breath here on earth.  Tim has been such a blessed child to have such an amazing grandfather.  He's the only one that he ever knew because my dad passed away before I ever married or had him.  I'm so thankful for the years Tim got with his Popsie though.  That's something that he will carry with him all throughout the rest of his life.  

More Pics of Pop....

We have had such a great time going through the family pictures.  Here are some more that we would like to share here.  These are in no particular order.

  

Our love for this man will live on for the rest of our lives.  He was so special and so deeply loved.  Amazing in every way.

May 16th is the day that Shook Our World....

I had just turned into my bed for the night to settle in to get some sleep or hoping to get some sleep.  Earlier in the day of the 15th my husband, Scot, drove to Kentucky and straight to Hospice Care where his father had been taken to earlier that day.  He had been suffering since December of 2023 with health issues and we were all told that he was in the last stages of his life.  None of us knew how long the last stages of life would be for Pop but May 16th at around 12:30am was when he took his last breath on this earth.  To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord and we knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that is where Pop is.  He is in no more pain and happier than he's ever been in his life.  He's there with his mom and dad and other family members that went before him.

He was the most amazing Pop I had ever known.  Our son had the best Popsie a kid could ever have.  Family is everything and Pop always put his family first.  He loved them immensely and we all knew it too.  He was so amazingly supportive of all that Tim has ever done and was doing at the time of his passing and Tim will always have that to carry with him for the rest of his life.  Tim has been amazing through the process of all that has happened since Pops passing too.  His hearts desire is to honor him to the best of his ability in his life.  Tim is such a great son and grandson.  We are beyond proud of the maturity of this kid and his love/respect for his family.  

Pop lived a great life.  He had such amazing stories that he told of all the family fun that they had had throughout the years.  He had amazing knowledge when it came to fixing just about anything but especially cars.  There wasn't much that he couldn't do mechanically.  If he didn't have a tool then he'd make one to get whatever job he had to do done.  I'm so glad that for near 17 years of married life to his son, Scot, that I got to know this incredible man.  He loved the Lord with all his heart.  His biggest desire was that all his kids and grandkids would know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  He prayed prayers to that effect at almost every family gathering for the past 8-10 years.  Now with his passing it is our hearts desire and prayer to see all of the family know the Lord too so that we will all have a big family reunion when we all get to heaven with him.  

Because of family being what they are when a family member passes Pops obit got changed many times but what I'm sharing here is a copy of the first draft which Pops kids and Nan (his wife) put together before the other family members had to put their two cents worth in when they should have left well enough alone.  The first draft was the best draft and done quite well in my opinion.

This was the image they used.

This is how the obit read:

It's hard to forget someone who gave me so much to remember.

Franklin E. Neal, age 88, of Ashland, Kentucky, went home to be with his Heavenly Father on May 16, 2024, while resting at Community Hospice.

Frank was born in the warm days of summer in Ashland, Kentucky on August 16, 1935. He was the blessing of the late Orie and Adelle Fraley Neal. Frank was a graduate of Thomas R. Brown High School and a proud Army National Guard Veteran. From an early age, Frank took an interest in cars, especially ones that went fast. He loved to race them and rebuild them. He knew cars like the back of his hand and could tell you what was wrong with them just by listening to the engine purr. Frank could just about fix anything and if he couldn’t fix it, he would just make a new one. He was handy that way. Frank valued family over everything. He saw the importance of keeping his kids close. Frank loved the east coast and spent much time there with his family. The children have fond memories of a 13-week trip in a VW Van traveling up and down the coast. Frank found joy in camping in a motor home. He had a strong faith and attended church both at home and in Florida, He was a great man with a wonderful sense of humor that he passed on to his children. Frank was Husband, Father, Popsie to his grandchildren, a only brother, and a friend. He was loved by so many and will be missed by all.

Frank leaves behind his loving wife of almost 70 years, Doris Stergeon Neal, three devoted children Elaine Brown and her husband Kevin of Flatwoods, KY, Jeff Neal and his wife Debra of Richmond, KY, and Scot Neal and his wife Lisa of Wendell, NC, Five beloved grandchildren, Mysterie, Brittany, Joshton, Corey and Timothy, five precious great-grandchildren William, Victorie, Versai, Kylie, and Norah, and one brother Mike Neal of Catlettsburg, KY.

In addition to his parents, Frank was preceded in death by one sister-in-law Sandy Neal.

A memorial service to honor the life of Frank will be held at Neal Funeral Home, located at 2409 Center Street, Catlettsburg, on June 1, 2024 beginning at 8pm. Visitation for friends and family will be held prior to the service from 6pm to 8pm.

In lieu of flowers the family strongly wishes that donations be made to Community Hospice at 1480 Carter Ave., Ashland, KY 41101, or Saint Jude’s Childrens Hospital at www.stjude.org/donate.

Online Condolences may be sent to the family from our website at kilgorecollierfuneralhome.com or on Facebook at Neal-Kilgore & Collier Funeral Home.

Neal-Funeral Home is honored to be caring for the family of Franklin E. Neal.

It was really well written and put together by Pops brother's funeral home.  They did an amazing job with it.  

To say Pop will be missed is an understatement.  He was the patriarch of the family and we all loved him dearly.  He was the glue that bound us all together.  Things will never be the same from this point on because of missing his presence every time that we are all together.  We are thankful for all the memories that we all have and can share with one another.  He will live on in us all even though his physical body is gone.   

I am currently putting together a picture video montage for the Celebration of Life service and once it's done I will share the link here.  There won't be any music on it because the family is having the funeral home play Pops playlist over their sound system while the video plays on their tvs.  Pop loved all the music from the mid 40's to the 60's so anytime that we want to watch it at home that's the music I'll always play in the background.  

He left such a great legacy behind in his kids and grandkids.  Now if they can remember that they are his legacy and live their lives like it then that will be the absolute best way that they can honor and pay homage to such a great man.  

Here's some candid pics in no particular order for you to enjoy as well:

Pop and teenage Scot.

Pop loved Porches.

I will share more in another post later because the computer is giving some format issues.

Some Pictures from Tim's Birthday on Saturday...

Tim's birthday was so awesome.  He PR'd in his Snatch lift with an 80kg lift.  He also PR'd in his back squat with a 120kg 3x lift.  We went to Angus barn and the food was as good as everyone boasts it is.  We also went to top golf for some family fun as well.  Here are some of the pictures that I got.

We also ended the day watching the solar flare that brought us northern lights.  Tim got to see that for the first time in his life which was such a treat on his birthday.  The first photo is one that I took but I also want to share with you some of the photos that friends of mine took as well from other parts of NC.

What a great treat for Tim on his birthday!!!  It was a great way of ending a day of celebrating the birth of our son on his 16th birthday.