Lauren Neal Obituary

I miss our hours long talks. I miss her laugh that was alarmingly loud if you weren´t bracing yourself for it. I miss her meticulous way of picking wine and a place to eat. I miss planning high school reunion and girls weekend trips with her. I miss speaking about her in the present tense.

I miss my friend. That will never end. My hope is that one day I´ll be able to welcome and embrace the unexpected bursts of past tense memories fondly again. My heart is so heavy, Lo.

May you be resting happily and peacefully.

We are saddened to learn of the passing of Lauren Neal whose love and commitment to the arts inspired her involvement with the Lyric Young Professionals. Please accept our heartfelt sympathy for this tragic loss. May the beautiful memories we have shared give us comfort at this difficult time and may we continue to live in appreciation of all that is beautiful in this world in memory of the extraordinary woman whose life and actions brought beauty and joy to all who knew her. God Bless the spirit of Lauren Neal and the lives of the friends and family who will dearly miss her.

Grief can be so hard, but our special memories help us cope. Remembering you and your loved one today and always.

Dearest Lo,
We miss you. We are so very grateful for all our wonderful memories over these many years. We especially loved the many parties at our house with you, Marge and Ellie and all your friends. Remember the many nights we were up late into the morning making our "mac and cheese" and "grilled cheese sandwiches"? Sometimes it seems like it was only yesterday ..We also loved our Hilton Head memories. Every Christmas we drink our "hot toddies" we will think of you and share our "Dear Lo" memories. We ( Mrs. K and Ellie) will make sure to take over the Christmas walk with Marge every year. We thank you for your friendship with all of us. You are with us always. Mr. and Mrs. K and Ellie

May God bless you and your family in this time of sorrow.

My condolences to the Neal family. Lauren was a great girl, she will be missed.

Eventually I hope to share more.

I keep waiting for a day that isn´t clouded in sadness.

For now, while I´m not into platitudes, what I can say is that over the past decade she became my person. When I had great news, or saw something hilarious, or my dog coughed something up, or I wanted to get Italian, or I tried cooking (but mistook garlic heads and garlic cloves), or I lost a job, or met a new girl (the latter two happened a lot) I always called her/she always answered and vice versa.

She and Riley were the first to meet me pup, Gilbert. Unfortunately. Bert hasn´t taken after Kix much,

More recently, when I started my company, while in the pandemic, in a new city, alone, and broke-ish, 2u was the only one that didn´t question it. She believed in me. Over the next two and a half years, 2u always cheered the company on. She always asked about it; always had great advice and motivated me to keep fighting.

There´s something special about choosing who gets to be in your life. We chose each other while getting though a tough time in our lives.

Time went on and she became my best friend. She made me better. She made a lot of us better.

I think about her daily and she´ll always be in my heart.

How do you put into a words a lifetime of memories.
My dearest Lauren. She came into my life 24 years ago when we were kids and quickly taught me the true meaning of friendship. She taught me about strength, passion, confidence, and grace. She has been my dearest, most loyal, caring friend over the past 24 years and has left foot prints on my soul that will stay with me forever. I am so heartbroken over this tremendous loss and will continue to be. But I choose to live my life remembering Lauren always, honoring her spirit, and carrying her with me. I promise to keep her spirit and memory alive through the stories I tell my kids and that I continue to tell her family. She will always be my bestie.

My heart goes out to the entire Neal family. You guys have become family over the years and I will forever be grateful to Lauren for that strong connection with you all. Sending you lots of love and strength during this incredibly difficult time. I am always here for you all.

In so many ways ... on so many days, I realize how profoundly `Lo´ touched my life. From compliments and advice she gave, which I still draw strength and inspiration from, to phrases I adopted from her vocabulary into my own, there isn´t a week which goes by that she doesn´t cross my mind.

Lauren was simply a vibrant light, whose warmth and enthusiasm will continue to illuminate the lives of others, ensuring that her one-of-a-kind personality lives on through those knew and loved.

I met Lauren a little over a year ago. She was my son's girlfriend and a wonderful woman. We had many spectacular dinners together with great laughter and friendship!

I thought from the moment I met her that she was something special, with terrific talents and intelligence. She offered so much and took so little. I really miss her laughter and intellect as well her internal beauty.

Like all who met and knew Lauren, we wish we could have her back and some day we will. Until then Lauren, we will miss you so very much.

In the meantime, we will continue to think of you as you were--a great and kind woman!

Most sincerely,


David S. Atlas

Sweet Lo, Dear Leeber, we miss you so much and think about you every day. You left us far too soon but you will always be with us and for that I will be eternally grateful. You will always be my best friend and the memories we shared have been some of the best moments of my life. Many of them were just the two of us, singing to Jimmy Buffet in your car on the way to the lake, Paris, sunrises, Christmas walks and the Chi Omega formal in Clemmy.

Til we meet again, it´ll be Disney world trips together in my dreams (and the best friend cookie ). I love you forever and always.

To the Neal family, my heart goes out to you. I´m always here for you and I´m so honored to know your family thanks to the best friend a girl could ever have, little Leebies. I love you guys and I´m always here for you. Cheers to Lo, her smile, her laughter and all the love we shared with her.