Ross Neagley Obituary

Captain Ross Lynn Neagley, DDS, USN (ret.) CHARLESTON - Captain Ross Lynn Neagley, DDS, USN (ret.), age 90, died peacefully at his home on October 17, 2023. A memorial service will be held at 11:00 am for family and friends on October 28th, at Church of the Holy Cross (Anglican), Daniel Island, SC. He will be buried at Beaufort National Cemetery in Beaufort, SC, at a later date. Ross is predeceased by his parents, Ross Linn and Isabel (Steever) Neagley, and one grandson (Matthew Strange). He is survived by his two sisters, Elaine Parvin and Sylvia Fahnestock (Robert), his wife, Barbara, and their three children Kimberly N. Geib (Douglas), Pamela N. Strange (Charlton), Elizabeth N. Johnson, six grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. Ross was born on October 21,1932 in Trenton, New Jersey to Ross Linn and Isabel Neagley. He was raised in Delaware and Pennsylvania with his two sisters, Elaine and Sylvia. He attended Davison College, NC, and Temple University School of Dentistry, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, where he graduated with a Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) in 1957. In 1955, while a dental student, he met and married Barbara Glasser, a student at the Temple University School of Dental Hygiene. They recently celebrated their 68th wedding anniversary. Ross joined the Navy in 1957, and after an initial tour of duty with his family in Hawaii, he practiced dentistry briefly in private practice in York, PA. He then returned to military service for a successful career in the USN Dental Corps, where he retired in 1988 at the senior rank of Captain. While in the Navy, he completed an endodontic residency at the former National Naval Medical Center (now Walter Reed National Military Medical Center), in Bethesda, MD. He practiced endodontics and general dentistry for a total of 30 years in the USN. Tours of duty spanned from the Mediterranean on the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal, and the destroyer tender USS Tidewater, to the Pacific in Okinawa, Japan, and Hawaii. Stateside, he also served at multiple US Naval base dental clinics in New London, CT, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach, VA, US Naval Academy (USNA), Annapolis, MD, and Charleston, SC. During his tour in Annapolis, Ross enjoying mentoring young midshipmen as the officer representative for the USNA varsity tennis team. During his last tour of duty in Charleston, Ross was commanding officer of the endodontics department. Additionally, he was a volunteer mentor for dental students at the James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine School, Medical University of South Carolina. He also served as past president of the South Carolina Association of Endodontists. His primary personal interests were focused on his family. He enjoyed traveling and loved spending time with his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was an avid tennis player. Through tennis, he developed many life-long friendships, and promoted the love of that sport with his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. In retirement, Ross and his wife, Barbara, enjoyed winters in their home in Key West, FL and summers in the mountains in Highlands, NC. Their primary residence was in Charleston, SC. Because his military service with the Navy meant so much to him in his lifetime, the family has suggested memorial donations may be sent to the United Service Organizations (USO) online at https://secure.uso.org. Donations may also be mailed to THE USO, PO Box 96860, Washington, DC 20077-7677.