The Shelby American (Fall 2021)

The SHELBY AMERICAN Fall 2021 118 BILL NEALE February 1, 2021 Bill Neale passed away peace- fully at home. He was 95. Bill is best known as one of this country’s foremost automotive artists and he leaves behind a huge body of work. His style was unique and immedi- ately recognizeable. Many of his paintings were reproduced as posters and every Shelby and Cobra enthusiast has at least one Bill Neale hanging somewhere. His work has appeared in Car and Driver, Automobile magazine, Sports Illustrated, Road & Track and numerous other publications. Bill was a lifelong friend of Car- roll Shelby and the two Texans often spent time carousing and just plain enjoying life. He joined the Navy after the attack on Pearl Har- bor and became a pilot, flying tor- pedo dive bombers off an aircraft carrier in the Pacific. When he hame home after the war he was modest and rarely spoke about his experiences. He was married got 67 years to Nelda, who he affectionately called “Scrap Iron.” She was the enduring good sport. Her brother went to school with Carroll Shelby so she was unimpressed by his celebrity. She knew him “back when.” Neale raced sports cars in the 1950s and that was when he got to know Shelby. Whenever Shelby touched down in Dallas he made it a point to spend time with Neale. They enjoyed hunting on the large tract of land Shelby had purchased in the Big Bend area of southwest Texas near the Mex- -ican border. It included a ghost town named Terlingua. They con- cocted the mythical Terlingua Rac- ing Team and Neale created the now-famous rabbit shield which eventually was displayed on many of Shelby’s team cars. Everyone who met Bill will agree that he was everything you would want in a close friend. He was a master story-teller who never ran out of material. His down-home, good-natured attitude and self-de- preciating humor made being in his company a delight. He had a devil- ish twinkle in his eye that made you believe he was sharing an in- side joke with you. His passing is our loss but we are better for hav- ing had him in our world. He lived a life worth living.