Neil Irwin Gilbert, 80, of Elk Rapids, MI, died peacefully at home on November 26, 2023, after a years-long battle with congestive heart failure and, more recently, Dementia.

Born in Hudson, MI, in 1943 to Elwyn and Bess (Whittenbaugh) Gilbert, Neil graduated from Muskegon High School in 1961 and received a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Packaging from Michigan State University (MSU) in 1965 and 1967, respectively.  While attending MSU, Neil met and married Judy Lyons in 1965 and within four years was the proud father of daughters Kristi and Courtney.

Neil and Judy moved nine times over the course of his 38-year career, which began in 1967 in Minneapolis with The Pillsbury Company and ended in Chicago in 2005 with Georgia Pacific. The in-between years included stints in Hickory, NC; Toledo and Sylvania, OH; Yardley, PA; Atlanta, GA and Dallas, TX.

Neil spent the majority of his professional life working in the corrugated box industry where he held a variety of positions at Owens-Illinois, Nekoosa Packaging and Georgia Pacific, including salesman, sales manager, pricing manager and general manager.  During his tenure as Georgia Pacific general manager in Waxachachie, TX, the manufacturing plant achieved back-to-back 0.0 OSHA incident rates—a rare accomplishment for a plant of that size (approximately 100 employees)—making it, at that time, Georgia Pacific's safest U.S. corrugated box plant.

In his spare time, Neil enjoyed golfing, boating, skiing, and cross-country motorcycle trips. During his and Judy's 25th wedding anniversary vacation in Hawaii, Neil took time away from group activities to play at four different golf courses. Neil loved navigating open waters on his motorboat; he helmed trips with family friends from Traverse City to Mackinac Island and Jacksonville, FL to Corpus Christi, TX.  He didn't start down-hill skiing until his early 40's and made up for lost time with annual trips to northern Michigan and several out west. But it was his Harley Davidson motorcycle trips that he loved the most, including roundtrips between Texas and Michigan with Courtney, family reunions in Iowa and the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

Neil was the head coach for several rec-league softball teams that his daughters played on in the late 1970s/early 1980s in Yardley.  His coaching skills only qualified him as an assistant to the assistant coach when Kristi started playing for the Pennsbury Gems 15U travel team.  Standing on the first-base line with a "sweat rag" hanging out of his polyester, Sansa belt shorts and wearing white knee-socks and a hat while smoking a cigar and keeping score, he could often be heard enthusiastically encouraging the batter with "Hustle, you got it, dig it, dig it, dig it!".

After retiring in 2005, Neil and Judy moved to Elk Rapids, MI, and built their dream log home on Grand Traverse Bay.  Neil worked for a few summers at the Elk Rapids Golf Club and continued to golf, ride his motorcycle and navigated the open waters of Elk Lake on his pontoon boat.  He was also an active member of the Presbyterian Church of Traverse City where he served as a volunteer at the Safe Harbor homeless shelter and was a member of the church's Session and Board of Deacons.

When asked about his greatest satisfaction in life, Neil replied, "To have been lucky enough to spend almost 60 years with Judy and to feel such pride in Kristi and Courtney as they progressed through childhood into adulthood." His other pride and joy was his granddaughter Emma, with whom he joyfully spent hours playing golf with, in her early years.  More recently, he followed her volleyball endeavors with great pleasure. Neil's goal of living long enough to see Emma graduate from high school was gratefully realized this past June.

As the heart failure and Dementia progressed over the last few years, there was an extreme kindness and gratitude that pervaded his life in a way it had not previously. Whether it was prompted by the vulnerability of knowing he was dying, that his body and mind seemed to betray him, or the dependency on others it required, there wasn't a day that went by in which he didn't profusely thank his family and tell them he loved them.

Neil is survived by his wife Judy of Elk Rapids, MI; his daughter Courtney Gilbert and granddaughter Emma Gilbert also of Elk Rapids; his daughter Kristi Gilbert and son-in-law Doug Bernardin of Ann Arbor, MI; his sister Lynne Mixer and her husband Dan of Elk Rapids; his sister-in-law Jane Clark and her husband Mark of Romeo, MI and his brother-in-law John Lyons of Brooklyn, NY. He is also survived by cousins, a niece, a nephew, and a grandnephew.

Cremation has already taken place and a celebration of life will follow at a later date.  Hospice of Michigan was critical in helping Neil and Judy gracefully navigate the end stage of his life with dignity, care, and relief. His family asks if you are so moved that you make a donation in his memory https://www.hom.org/donate/. If you'd like the family to be made aware of your donation, please email Kristi at klynngilbert@gmail.com.

Beacon Cremation & Funeral Service, Covell-Elk Rapids Chapel,  is in charge of arrangements.

www.beaconfh.com