Here.

Got to know Neel personally starting 7-8 years ago. After my dad passed away 3 years ago, he was talking to me about how he might help with grandfather type activities. He wanted to help facilitate and be present for my son's first deer.

I'm going to miss the random phone calls. He had a knack for really odd times and inopportune moments.

But with NW80, you got a a man of his word, even if is did lead to odd encounters. 5 or 6 years ago, I was hunting near Jarell. I called him a week before and he invited me to dinner (the dude could cook really good). Wrap up my hunt, call him and he had forgotten. "Oh sh--, that's right. Damn I have plans. Hey, I'm just going to dinner with a friend, come on down". Turns out he is going on a date with a lady he had been dating for short time, but was serious about. I try to hint that dragging your internet buddy along for the date might come off as a bit odd, but off to Saltgrass we went. Now odd bit #2, for number of years NW80 was legitimately friends with Tommy Lee Jones. Neel had just gotten a new puppy and wanted some advice on naming the dog. So here I am, sitting in Neel's new Ecodiesel apparently going on a date with him where he meets this lady's mostly grown kids...yeah this ain't odd at all. But before that, let's call Tommy Lee Jones and discuss naming this puppy. Initially Neel really wanted to name the puppy Blue Duck. TLJ went off the evil connotations associated with the name Blue Duck. This was a serious conversation that went on for several minutes, and they settled on Blue being an acceptable name......and then I went on to participate/witness one of the oddest date experiences I have ever seen.

I'll miss you man.

He was a good friend. Many many years ago when the Outdoor Board was actually about the outdoors I posted the first find the mule deer picture. The first one to find all of them, put a circle around them and post a picture on texags would get a mule deer hunt.

He found them first but couldn't draw a circle or post a picture. It took me longer to teach him how to post a picture than it did to get his medical degree.

He loved to mule deer hunt and we talked about it a lot. He hated Aoudads with a passion. He found out that I had a place in Port Aransas and he wanted to learn the area. That's great, "Give me a call when you are down there and I'll show you some places."

One day I had just launched the airboat and I was walking to it and he called. He was at Super Flats. I headed down there and met him face to face for the first time. I took him to 4 or 5 places. I went into a hole north of Fence Lake and reds were everywhere. We fished for about two hours.

Neel had a lot of friends. I'm glad I was one of them. I am usually up around 3:00am and that meshed in with his late night trauma duty so we talked a lot.

I talked to him just a few days ago. I never dreamed it was going to be the last time. I'm going to miss you my friend.

Never met him, but feels like I lost my Dad again

The world needs more like NW80

I believe that is the first time I have seen you change your emotion icon.

That trip with you and NW80 was a blast.

Damn.

I had a similar story to ccard. He sent me his cell and I bet we spent 30 minutes talking fly fishing a few years ago.

Didn't he just recently post that he was supposed to be in NM fishing next week?

If so, what a better way to go

Just putting things together, what a life...

Renowned surgeon who impacted countless lives

Claimed a hero of a father and Red Duke as a godfather

Spent lots of time smelling salt, chasing mulies, and casting flies

Apparently generous to anyone who crossed his path

And old crusty sage of OB

What a life!

And to, perhaps, go out doing something you love...before disability, dementia, or dependence have latched onto you...

We should all dream of such a life with such an ending

Prayers to those to knew him...and Godspeed to NW80

I met NW80 at Pelicans in Port Mansfield about two years ago. I'd just gotten off the water with my Dad and we were getting dinner and having a few drinks while waiting. I went up to the bar to order another round and the guy sitting next to me was scrolling through TexAgs on his phone, so I told him to get off TexAgs while on vacation. That started the first of many conversations, or really, listening sessions with Doc. I forget how we ended up exchanging numbers a few months later, but that would lead to many get phone calls like others have said, at the most inopportune moments, but never failed to answer him, because it was always going to be interesting, and a good chance I'd learn something along the way. And with Doc, if he took the time to call you, it meant something. I'm here in Mansfield now, and was going to call him Monday to gig him about not starting on his house down here yet and to let him know we hammered the Tuna today.

I'll miss your calls, Doc. I'm sure you're already lecturing all who will listen in Heaven on the finer points of reloading, Aggie Football, and Tarpon on the fly.

I received an email from his sister a little while ago that she sent to one of his email list. Pulmonary Embolism about 1:00am this morning while on the fishing trip in New Mexico.

I starred your post just because you gave us some details.

I paused the movie I was watching with the rib earlier tonight when I happened onto the news. Broke down and had a hard time explaining it to her.

Thanks for the info, sad to hear, but I'm not sure there is a better way to go out than doing what you love, and that man loved the outdoors more than anything. He dedicated his life to trauma surgery, hunting, and fishing. He picked a nice place to spend the last few days too:







Godspeed Doc, godspeed...

Holy cow, man this sucks. He was a character and a half, had opinions on just about everything outdoors and was one helluva good guy! His phone calls were legendary, and you better have plenty of time for the conversation, no clue how many hours we spent discussing his Port Mansfield fishing lodge to be. I'll miss his random crazy calls and awesome stories. They don't make em like him anymore.

Here

That sounds right. I was more baffled by the conversation I just listened to. They had a falling over politics a couple years ago.

He told me a different story about why he and TLJ had a falling out regarding large amounts of alcohol and a comment or two about TLJ not being a real rancher...