Denise Lott

Our community still feels the gap left by the sudden death of Don Neu, an avid tennis player and involved member of the community. In remembrance of Don, the IronOaks Tennis Club collected funds to install a bench with a memorial plaque. The plaque reads, “In Memory of Don Neu—A Dear Friend—2/11/2017—From Members and Friends of the I.O.T.C.” It is placed in front of stadium court No. two, Don’s favorite court on which to play.

The project to purchase and dedicate the bench was spearheaded by Bruce Stead. At the ceremony, IronOaks Tennis Club president, Ole Brekke, spoke for a few minutes, following by Bruce Stead, and then Don’s wife, Sandy. Other attending players added remarks about the influence of Don in their lives. Then Sandy Neu was presented with a pair of scissors and officially cut the red ribbon around the bench as we wrapped up our dedication.

After the ceremony, in true Don Neu fashion, we played tennis. This was our annual Valentine Social with Cottonwood. The fun tennis was followed by an ice cream sundae bar, giving the players and guests time to chat as they consumed bowls of ice cream topped by strawberries, pineapple, bananas, nuts, cherries, whipped cream, and chocolate syrup. Our thanks go to Judy Gahide and Olena Buxton for arranging the dessert and to Mike Davin for setting up the matches.