Walter Paul Mcneal

Walter Paul McNeal, 86 of Valdosta passed away Thursday, March 25th, 2021. He was born in Valdosta on August 22nd, 1934 to the late Ivey Lee and Maude Eva McNeal. Mr. McNeal grew up in Valdosta and was a Valdosta Wildcat, playing for their football team from 1950-1954. After high school, he went on to graduate from Brenau College with a bachelor’s degree. He worked for the Georgia Department of Corrections for over 30 years, spending many of the years in Alto before retiring from the Valdosta location. Mr. McNeal was a longtime member of the First Presbyterian Churches of Cornelia and Valdosta, and a current member of First United Methodist Church of Valdosta. He was a proud supporter of VSU athletics.
Survivors include his children and their spouses Paul and Debi McNeal, Tommy and Kim McNeal, Brinkley and Jack Blair, and Dolores and Jody Braswell; his grandchildren and their spouses Andrew and Shelby McNeal, Joshua and Alina McNeal, Emily and Joseph Wetherington, Laura Beth and Elliott Sweat, Randy, Brinkley, and Mitchell Blair, and James and Matthew Braswell; great grandchildren Brycen and Carver Wetherington, and Tripp and Collins Sweat; brothers and sisters in laws Billy and Cynthia McNeal, Jimmy and Robin Thompson, nephews and nieces Larry and Linda Gail Jones, Stanley and Karen Wright, Sandra Kennedy, David Wright, and Donna Hampton, brother in law and sister in law Eddie and Ruth Laws, sister in law Loudelle Laws and daughters Susie and Dixie Milner; and beloved family friend Anthony Adams. He was preceded in death by his wife Brinkley Laws McNeal, his three sisters Elva Lee Jones, Eva Bell Lewis, and Retha Wright, his brother Lee McNeal, his niece Linda Jones Hiers, and his grandchild Ryan Alexander Braswell.
Graveside services will be held at 11:00am, Tuesday March 30th, 2021 at Sunset Hill Cemetery with Rev. David Tart officiating. Visitation will be on Monday March 29th from 5-7pm, at Carson McLane Funeral Home. Condolences to the family may be conveyed online at www.mclanecares.com. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Georgia Sheriffs’ Boys Ranch, 5671 Boys Ranch Rd., Hahira, GA 31632 or Paul Anderson Youth Home, P.O. Box 525, Vidalia, GA 30475 or a charity of your choice.