Neil J. Featherstone Jr.

Neil J. Featherstone Jr., age 76 of Fremont, passed away Tuesday, August 25, 2009 at the Gerber Memorial Health Services in Fremont. Neil was born on October 24, 1932 in Alton, Illinois to Neil J. and Ermal (Crawford) Featherstone Sr. Neil met and later married Karen L. Schubert on June 8, 1957 in Silvis, Illinois. Karen preceded him in death on December 25, 2006. Neil attended and graduated from Missouri Valley College. Following graduation, Neil joined the United States Army

where he served in the United States Army 5^th Armored Calvary Division during the Post Korean War era. Neil became the Assistant Boy’s Director at the YMCA in Evanston, Illinois and Director at Camp Echo for 13 years. In 1968 Neil became the Director at the Meadows Nursing Home, a position he held for 22 years. Neil had been active in the Boy Scouts of America; was a member of the Free and Accepted Masons in Evanston; had served as President of the Fremont Public School Board; had been an active member and served on the Baldwin Family Health Care Board. Neil has been an active supporter of the Fremont Cross County Team and was an avid St. Louis Cardinals and Michigan State University Athletics Fan. Neil was a member of the First Congregational, United Church of Christ in Fremont and was also a founding member of the Under-Handed Cut-Rate Construction Company.

Neil is survived by his sons, Jim (Anne) Featherstone of Fremont; Bill (Terri) Featherstone of Rochester Hills, Michigan; Donald (Katherine) Featherstone of Prestwood, Buckinghamshire, U.K.; his grandchildren, Dan, Jacob, Bennett, Austin, Sophia; his sister, Betty Leake of Bethalto, Illinois; his niece, Brenda Leake of Bethalto, Illinois.

VISITATION : Saturday, August 29, 2009 from 3-6 p.m. at Crandell Funeral Home – Fremont Chapel. MEMORIAL SERVICES : Saturday, October 10, 2009 at 2pm on the grounds of Camp Echo in Fremont. MEMORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS : Fremont Area Community Foundation for a fund to be established later in memory of Neil. Friends may send a condolence or share a memory with the Featherstone family online at www.crandellfh.com.

Dear Featherstone family.

I'm so sorry to hear of your father's passing.

He was a wonderful man.

Jerry Woodring

Posted 8/26/2009

I was saddened to learn of Neil's passing. I did not know that his wife passed in '06.

I am 55 and living in California. Karen was actually my kindergarten teacher at Dawes school. I saw her later and met Neil, as a camper for 3 Summers.

One summer I brought some military army patches to camp and gave them to Karen for one of her sons. I cannot recall which one. Maybe one of you remembers receiving them.

I found the Camp website a year or two ago. regrettably I never contacted Neil or Karen before they passed, and probably hadnt had contact for over 40 yrs. since my camper days.

I wish the entire family well and know you can be proud about the wonderful lives your parents led.

Sincerely,

Robert Kopelson

Posted 8/26/2009

am 52 and grew up in Highland Park, Ill. was a camper at Echo when Neil was Camp Director. Later I was a counselor at Featherstone lodge. Many of my fondest childhood memories and much of who I am was formed at Camp Echo. The camp not only offered new experiences such as horseback riding, hiking and other outdoor sports, but the first time away from home, learning to both be independent and a member of the team. We all had responsibilities for food prep, maintaining the camp grounds and helping with activities. I felt that the high standards of Camp Echo reflected Neil Featherstone and help develop a generation of Chicago area boys and girls.

My deepest condolences.

James Field

Posted 8/26/2009

Featherstones:

The passing of your mother and now Neil comes with great sadness for the DeLapp family.

Brother Greg and I were boy and then family campers (with my parents Joe and Betz with sisters Jackie, Barb and Becky, and then as a parent with my wife Candace and my children). Greg and I were both staffers for several years working for your Dad, too. In fact, a large portion of my fondest memories growing up are Camp Echo and that direct link to what your father accomplished (with a great wife behind him). The DeLapps share experiences with your Dad and Echo that span four decades.

Your dad built a great camp and a spirit that I am sure you will hear and have heard from so many more that were touched by the hand of the Featherstones. His leadership and presence brought so many great things--the overall positive experience one had as a staffer or camper; the policies and procedures that guided everything; his philosophies on life, management and motivation that were passed along in conversation, campfires and chapel; a positive spirit embedded into and throughout life; as well as the very type of people he attracted from the musicians that played at family camp square dances to the staffers themselves---all were instrumental to the way many of us grew up. For those who experienced this "Feather touch," we all share a lasting bond that has survived for decades and will for decades to come. What an awesome accomplishment by your Dad.

I do not know if you Featherstone kids were old enough to recall the hilarious jabbing that my Dad (Joe Sr.) and Bud Heckler had at family Camp with your dad and the staffers (eg. KYBO Trotter baseball rivalries with the staff)--there was more gut-busting laughter and fun than I can remember at any other time in my life...that, the many other great Echo experiences, your Dad listening to the radio at night to the St. Louis Cardinals, and the serious, teaching side of your Dad, I will always remember.

God bless...

Joe(y) DeLapp

Posted 8/26/2009

Dear Jim, Anne, Jake and Bennett,

We just want you to know that we are thinking of you and praying for you during this time of sadness. Neil was a fine man and has certainly left a wonderful legacy for you and all his family.

Tom Schuiteman, Emily, Sam & Max.

Posted 8/26/2009

Dear Featherstone Family,

I was a camper for two years during Neal’s tenure. It was the first time I had been away from home alone. Neal took a special interest in me and used to let me ride with him to town and to the dump. I still think of him as one of the kindest persons I ever knew. I am now 62 yet I still fondly remember all he did for me. He was a wonderful man, who taught me empathy and kindness. I will remember him always.

My deepest condolences to all of you.

Skip Whittington

Posted 8/26/2009

The time I spent in Featherstone cabin will always be cherished. May he rest in peace. My deepest condolences to you at this time, I am so sorry for your loss.

Margo Scott

Government Relations Coordinator

Close Up Foundation

Posted 8/26/2009

My thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time. I am a Camp Echo Alum and I truly appreciate everything Neil did for Camp Echo. It is a truly magical place and his spirit will live on for generations to come.

Best,
Andrea

Posted 8/26/2009

Dear Featherstone family:

The Kisor and Guy families send our deepest condolences on your loss. What a wonderful man...someone who touched so many lives over so many years. I am proud to have known him and learned from him.

Sincerely,

Debbie Guy

Posted 8/28/2009

Dear Featherstone family – My condolences to you on your loss. I attended Camp Echo in the ‘60s and my children attended in the ‘90s. I will always remember Camp Echo and Neil Featherstone together. In fact, I always think of Neil and the ’69 moon landing as one; Neil set up a black & white TV for us to watch the experience, and I remember him and the camp every year on this anniversary.

Dear Featherstones:

I was saddened to hear of your dad's death, however, I had a nagging
suspicion that it was coming. He was in good shape mentally during the
Camp Echo adult work weekend in May. Ron Gibson (Gibby) brought him out
to camp for dinner and he had an extra large portion of ice cream, as I
recall. Your dad and Gordy were "yammering" back and forth over
dinner. Had I closed my eyes, I would have thought that I was listening
to the "Odd Couple."

I met your dad in 1966, as I returned from one of the most dramatic
horseback rides ever offered at Echo. My saddle had slipped off my
horse, and I found myself riding upside down! My counselor tried to
help, but something started off a stampede through the back forty. In
the end, all of us campers were thrown. I lost my dad's army sleeping
bag and was utterly inconsolable. Thom Brown, the program director,
probably had not prepared for grief counseling like this in divinity
school, and Neil and Thom had their hands full. They found me a new
sleeping bag. I talked to my dad by phone and finally "got back on my
horse," metaphorically speaking.

What I really appreciate about your dad was his alignment to the mission
of building strong young men. He gave us campers some great role
models. I remember each spring when a packet would arrive from the Y.
It included a brochure with a photo of each senior staff member along
with their name and the college they attended. These were the
ambassadors of camp. These were the young men that Neil had entrusted
to lead us on the experience of a lifetime. Neil set the bar high in
this area. It was only natural that funding sources would know a good
thing when they saw it--new cabins and infrastructure were inevitable.

I will look forward to sharing memories with you. Katie Tucker Trippi
and I have two wonderful hours of video from an interview that Katie did
with Neil in October. He did not mention the Under-Handed Cut-Rate
Construction Company, and I am wondering if anybody owes anyone else
money over that venture!

Blessings on you, Blessings on Neil,

Chuck Heisinger
Evanston, IL

Dear Featherstone Family,

Our family was deeply saddened to hear of the passing of your Mother, and now your creative Dad. Your father touched the lives of hundreds of campers in the most positive and memorable ways - every Echo alumni of his era has incredibly strong impressions of life at camp and of Long Lake.

In addition to being regular campers, my family had the privilege of being the "Camp Doctor & Nurse" for two weeks of family camp for several years, and staying in the Nurse's Cabin (Us kids were relegated to the Ice House). My siblings have been passing our good memories of your Dad back and forth.

Our deepest condolences,

Greg, Callie, Martha & Doug Hansen

Posted 8/28/2009

Dear Featherstone family,
My deepest condolences on the loss of Neil. He was an incredible person and
will be sorely missed.

As a child, Karen was one of my very first teachers. I loved her spirit
immediately and even at 5 years old knew we had a bond for life.

In high school I found myself working at Camp Echo and realized the
connection to the Featherstones once again as I became a counselor to the
oldest girls in camp, in Featherstone Lodge. I was so excited and proud to
be able to carry on the Featherstone's love of camp through those girls.

As an alum of Echo its always been a great pleasure to see Neil at work
weekends. He was always asking about my family and was eager to hear what I
was doing these days. Regardless of what crew Rob Johnston assigned me to,
you could always count on Neil to be riding the mower each spring getting
the grass cut for those first campers of the outdoor ed season. Those
weekends will not be the same without him.

Neil has left a legacy that few people could ever dream of, and I am a
better person for having known both Neil and Karen.

With deepest sympathy,
Marci Gray

Dear Jim, Bill, and Don,

Your dad was very special in my life and the lives of many others. At Camp Echo, he saw me through my years as a camper and later gave me the honor of working on his staff. He conveyed a real sense of confidence and trust in me long before I deserved it…and gave me many opportunities to grow into that trust along the way. His sense of humor left its mark as well, and there are many treasured stories in my life where he is a big part. I feel very lucky and thankful to have grown up under his watch.

You and your mom and dad are in my thoughts and prayers.

Bob "Tark" Tarkington

Posted 8/31/2009

Jim, Anne, and family,

We are sorry for your loss. Your Father and Mother had contributed so much in so many ways to our community. We will miss them.

Robert Jordan

To Neil's Family;

My prayers are for God's presence to comfort and strengthen you in your time of greiving. I am very grateful to have come to know Neil in is latter years as he served on the Board of Baldwin Family Health Care. His wisdom and vision helped us very much to become who we are today. We are blessed to have him in our life.

Lawrence J. Doorn

Past Chair

Board of Directors

Baldwin Family Health Care

Posted 8/31/2009

Dear Featherstone Family,

I wish to express my deepest sympathy to you. I have know Neil for many years and have truly enjoyed working for him at The Meadows.

Dixie Pikaart

Posted 9/3/2009

Dear Featherstones:

I was sorry to be out of town during Neil's gathering at the funeral
home last week Saturday, and even more sorry that we will be in New
Mexico on October 10 and will also miss the gathering then.

Neil was a special guy, a friend to so many, and we shall not see his
like again. His wise-guy attitude was always good for a lift, and he
had such a great memory for what his pals were up to. I am glad his
misery is over, but I will miss him. Lux aeterna luceat ei, Spartan.

Don Reinders

Posted 9/6/2009

To the Featherstone family:

I was saddened to hear of Neil's passing.

Let me assure you that he will live in our memories to the end of our lives. He was a true leader and gave so much energy to the campers that I deeply respected him.

I recall his "snookups" story vividly, which we enjoyed every year. I loved his campfire tales, particularly the way that he put counselors on the spot to continue the stories of Peg Leg Pete once the previous storyteller had put him in an impossible situation.

I also recall an incident of mischief that makes me chuckle to this day: we had found someone's stray underwear and marked a certain spot with dark clay. During lost-and-found in the dining area, he looked at it and called out "Rick McAdams", a hapless counselor who was a Vietnam vet. We all laughed.

Robert J. Crawford Chemin de la Traverse Balmette 74290 Talloires France

Posted 9/8/2009

Julie and I were both saddened to hear of your father's passing. Speaking for myself, I can honestly say that he was one of the top five male influences in my life. I suspect his gift was the understanding of the needs boys and young men have during our formative years. His magic lay in his ability to be firm and gentle when teaching us boys about the path to virtuous manhood. Camp Echo was where I got my footing - your dad was instrumental in helping shape this foundation. When I think of Neil Featherstone, I have an image of a morning chapel looking over the lake at camp. He is standing at the podium with a wooden cross behind him. Perhaps the words he is saying aren't all that important. What is important is the man himself, reaching out to us young boys , encouraging us to live a Christ-like life. His lessons touched my soul... they are a part of who I am today.