photo by Brie Cohen

Dr. Harry Neel walks on the sidewalk in his backyard past some of his bird feeders Thursday morning. Neel enjoys feeding the birds and watching them come by. Neel, a retired surgeon, is 102 years old and lives without assistance at his home in Albert Lea.

'He's just a lively person'

102-year-old retired doctor has done everything he wanted

By Sarah Stultz | Albert Lea Tribune

Published Saturday, April 4, 2009

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series featuring Albert Lea’s centenarians. The series focuses on their memories of the past and what they’ve done to live longer, healthier lives.

Ask Dr. Harry Neel of Albert Lea what he’s done to live past 100, and he’ll tell you he’s just lived a normal life.

Tucked away on Massee Street in Albert Lea, Neel, who is 102 and 11 months, will tell you he’s never smoked, he did everything he wanted to and he engaged in all kinds of sports.

And, somehow, he managed to live past a century.

In all reality, however, Neel didn’t just randomly manage to reach 100; he soared into life as a centenarian. He had done several significant things throughout his life to help him live such a long, fulfilling life.

Approaching his white house from the street, the eye first catches glimpse of a large American flag that waves proudly from a pole in front of Neel’s residence. Neel, a former World War II veteran, is a patriotic man. He can recall dates of battles past off of the tip of his tongue.

Walk into his house, which is filled with certificates of accomplishment and photos of family, Neel will offer to take your coat just as a true gentleman would.

Dressed in slacks, a white shirt and tie, and a sweater, Neel is dressed for what could be another day at the clinic, though he retired in 1983.

He reads books, interacts with his grandchildren via the Internet, feeds the birds, has a garden and even still drives.

Up until a few years ago, Neel said, he never really had any health problems. Now, he has a pacemaker, and he’s having a little trouble with his back.

“My son insisted I use a cane,” he said. “I don’t get around the way I used to.”

But that doesn’t stop Neel from doing the things he wants to do, like going out on errands, having company over to the house and having a garden — including things like tomatoes, peppers, broccoli and squash.

He said it’s rare that he goes out on an errand and doesn’t find someone who knows him.

Dr. Lowell W. Barr, son of Dr. Lowell C. Barr who worked with Neel, said in the past decade or so, Neel has learned how to cook and hosts dinner parties at his house. He has six apple trees in his yard and has learned how to make apple pie.

“He’s just a wonderful gentleman,” Barr said. “He always had an excellent standard of care.”

Born May 14, 1906, in Daytona, Fla., as an only child, Neel had a father who died in 1911 of tuberculosis. The family had moved to North Carolina to live in the mountains as a place for him to heal. But really it was a place for him to die, Neel said.

Following his father’s death, his mother worked for the Internal Revenue Service, and after a while, they moved to the headquarters of the IRS, which is in Greensboro, N.C. While there, Neel earned his Eagle Scout Award, as the first Eagle Scout in Greensboro, he noted.

In 1924, Neel finished high school and attended college at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va. After four years there, he spent another four years at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md.

He interned as a surgeon for a few years and then in April of 1936, he moved to Minnesota to work at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. He was what they called a fellow from 1936 to 1940 at the clinic until he married May Bjorsson.

In 1940 the couple came to Albert Lea. They had two children.

Together with a handful of other surgeons, Neel started a small group of medical experts, who worked at the Albert Lea Medical and Surgical Center.

“He was the first surgeon outside of Mayo who went to Albert Lea and set a standard of excellent care there,” Barr said. “He’s always been a wonderful consultant and a wonderful doctor. He not only does surgery, but he attends to the whole patient.”

Barr, who said his family has always been close to Neel’s, said he remembers the former surgeon giving him advice about surgery and medicine before Barr became a medical student. As a pre-medical student, Barr said he got to observe surgery with Neel.

“He’s an excellent surgeon and just a gentleman in surgery,” Barr said.

He also noted Neel’s ability as a historian — in his ability to recall dates of events.

Neel said he voluntarily served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, on the hospital ship of the USS Solace. He has many memories of his life there.

Barr said if he could pinpoint things in Neel’s life that helped him reach 100, he’d say Neel drank alcohol in moderation, and he had a good diet. He worked a lot, but he had recreation too. He still reads a lot and even keeps up on medicine, Barr pointed out.

He’s tried to live by the rules of being an Eagle Scout and has also been heavily involved with the Rotary Club, he said.

“He’s just a lively person,” Barr said.

In February, Neel was honored for his accomplishments at the Freeborn County Medical Society during its annual meeting.

“I do think I’ve had a nice medical career,” Neel said. “That’s what I think of most.”

His 103rd birthday will be in just over a month.

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