Henry Alan Neil Jr. ’50

Henry Alan "Hank" Neil Jr., longtime staff director of the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health, and Human Services, died Dec. 31, 1997, of complications from a stroke at Vencor Hospital in Arlington, Va. He was 69.

Hank prepared at Elgin Academy. At Princeton, he majored in politics, was active in the Liberal Union, and joined Cloister Inn.

Hank earned a master's in political science from the U. of Chicago in 1952. From 1952-54, he lectured and worked toward a PhD in government at the Littauer School of Public Administration at Harvard. He served in the Army from 1955-57 in Germany, then studied at Heidelberg and Hamburg Universities on a Fulbright Scholarship.

In 1958 Hank married, returned to the States, and became a budget analyst in H.E.W., rising to budget director. From 1969-90 he worked for the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health, and Human Services; he helped ensure research into cancer, strokes, AIDS, and other diseases was sufficiently funded by the government.

Hank, an avid gardener, enjoyed nature and hiking. He also worked with the Center for Civic Education.

Hank is survived by his wife of 40 years, Erika; sons Fritz '81, Peter, and Erik '86; two sisters, and five grandchildren, to whom the class extends its deepest sympathy.

The Class of 1950