Edward F. McNeely of Wakefield, MA, formerly of Melrose, passed away peacefully on November 13th at Melrose Wakefield Hospital in Melrose, Massachusetts Ed was a caring husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle and a friend of many. Ed valued and cherished his family and was happy when they were all together sharing memories, stories and laughter. He loved watching his children grow up and was very proud of the men they are today. Ed was especially proud of his two grandsons, Benjamin and Nicholas spending time with them, watching them at sporting events; they were what made him smile every day. Ed was a 1954 graduate of Malden Catholic High School and went on to earn his degree from Merrimack College in 1969. Ed was employed by Sylvania Electric for 9 years, followed by employment with Hughes Aircraft for 30 years. Ed was a member of Saint Vincent DePaul Society's in St. Mary's Parish for many years. He also enjoyed his involvement with Troop 635 of the Boy Scouts as the assistant scout- master and spent many weekends for numerous years as a skating instructor, teaching Melrose children how to learn to skate at Melrose Youth Hockey. Ed was an avid golfer and enjoyed his membership at the Bellevue Golf club where he also served as the club secretary for many years. Ed was born in Malden on October 7, 1935 to the late Teresa B (Burke and Edward McNeely). He is survived by his loving wife for 54 years, Shirley McNeely of Wakefield, two sons Kevin McNeely of Melrose; James McNeely and his significant other Nancy Concemi of Wakefield; 2 grandchildren; Nicholas and Benjamin McNeely of Melrose, sister, Marie Burchfield and her late husband Victor of Luneburg, Ma., brother in law Richard Shea, and his wife Barbara of Osterville, Ma., former daughter in law Kathy Keohane. He also is survived by many nieces and nephews and several cousins. Relatives and friends will gather in honor and remembrance of Ed's life during visiting hours at the Gately Funeral Home, 79 W. Foster St. Melrose on Friday November 16th, from 4pm-8pm. Funeral procession from Gately Funeral Home on Saturday morning, November 17, 2018 at 9:15AM, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Mary's Church, 9 Herbert St. Melrose at 10:30AM. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made in Ed's name to St. Vincent DePaul Society, St Mary's Church, 46 Myrtle St. Melrose Ma, 02176. Burial will be private. Eulogy Summing up our father's life we keep coming back to one thought. Never will you meet a man who more faithfully lived his values. Our father was a teacher of all things. His method was simple. He taught by example. At any age, when faced with an ethical dilemma, after reflection, study, or even rationalization, we find ourselves coming back to one simple question. What would Dad do? His character is the foundation of our conscience. Our father was strong in body, in spirit, and in commitment. He never missed any of our sporting or school events or anything that we were involved in threw out our lives and would always volunteer his time to help out his family and friends. Dad cherished watching his grandsons sporting events and never missed one and would always provide positive encouragement; he loved to hear what their latest accomplishment was and would always let them know how proud he was of them. Our father never let another man down. He fulfilled every obligation he ever undertook. His word was his bond, and everyone knew it. We would like to share a few reasons why we admire our Dad. First and foremost was his love and commitment for our Mother, not just marital commitment. He was committed to making her HAPPY. If it was important to her, it BECAME important to him. They were happily married for 54 years, and during his last days, his only concern was for Mom's well-being and comfort. Kevin and Jim also admire him because of the KIND of father he was to them. Yes, he loved us… very much. But he also instilled in us a core value system that defined who HE was. And that was a man who kept his promises. He was a man of integrity. Whenever we stumbled, he could have accepted our bitching & moaning and advised us to take the easy way out and quit. But he'd have none of THAT his famous two sayings were "Can't means wont and Ah Bullshit". He fully expected us to see things through, all the way to the end good or bad without drama. "Do it. It just needs to be done. He always made sure you learned a life lesson weather you stumbled or triumphed. If you're here today, and we thank you for that, it means that he touched your life in some way or another. That means that you'd miss him in some way or another. Yes, he will be missed Friends will miss his coffee and his company and direct opinion on issues. His grandchildren will miss his support and guidance Our mother will miss having her best friend by her side We will miss our father, the source of our convictions. We will miss our inspiration.