Neal Alan Stanley

Neal Alan Stanley, 77, of Denver, Colorado, died on April 25, 2025, He was born on June 1, 1947 to Page and Marie Stanley in Amarillo, Texas. Neal grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma with his parents and two sisters, Diane and Jo Ann. He was an avid golfer and graduated from Edison High School in 1965, having played on the Edison golf team. After one year at the University of Oklahoma, Neal enlisted in the U.S. Army. He spent the first year of his service at Ft. Polk, LA, and then served in 1967-68 in Vietnam with the 50th Medical Detachment as a medic on medical evacuation Huey helicopters, flying 746 Dustoff missions picking up the wounded and treating them on the flight to a hospital. He received the Silver Star, Bronze Star and 14 Air Medals. He spent his last year of service at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico where he met Marie Lievi and they were married in Tulsa on August 5, 1972.

After his discharge from the Army, Neal returned to Oklahoma University, and earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1975. Neal worked as an engineer for Amoco in Houston, for Terra Resources in Tulsa, and then transferred to Denver with Terra in 1983. Neal founded Teton Oil & Gas in Denver in 1991, and a few years later worked for Forest Oil Corporation. where he was a Senior Vice President and a manager of exploration and production in the western U.S. He was also a Director of Great Western Oil & Gas Co. from 2008-2013. Neal was inducted into the Rocky Mountain Oil & Gas Hall of Fame in 2009 and received the “Wildcatter of the Year” award in 2011 for lifetime service to the Rocky Mountain oil and gas industry.

In 1997, after almost 30 years of not wanting to talk about his time in Vietnam, he began to look for the men who were in the 50th Medical Detachment with him. He organized their first reunion in San Antonio, Texas in 2000, and many of them continued to gather annually for years. After visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington (The Wall), Neal began to volunteer his time there in 2008 for 10-20 days per year over Memorial Day and Veterans Day, helping people find the names of their loved ones. Neal’s other volunteer projects included Freedom Service Dogs, which trains and matches service dogs with military veterans and others who have physical or mental disabilities. He was also a member of Rolling Thunder Colorado Chapter 1, a nationwide organization that maintains awareness of the POWs and MIAs who have not been accounted for and helps their families, and helps veterans who travel to Denver for medical care. He also founded Boots to Energy, which helped over 60 military veterans find jobs in the oil and gas industry in the Rocky Mountain States.

Neal and Marie were also members of the Denver Petroleum Club as well as Cherry Hills Country Club for many years.

Neal leaves his wife, Marie, of Denver, and his two sisters, Diane Hines of Wauconda, Illinois, and Jo Ann Parsons and husband Joe of Tulsa, Oklahoma, as well as the dear Kennedy family – Kerin, Brady, Carissa, Katie, Mia, our beloved Owen and Nunny Nicholes all of Draper, Utah, and Rob and Malachi Kennedy of Bentonville, Arkansas. Neal’s memorial service will be at Fort Logan Cemetery, Denver on June 13, 2025 at 10:30am. His ashes will be buried at the cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Neal’s name at one of his favorite charities: Freedom Service Dogs, 7193 S. Dillon Ct. Englewood, Colorado 80112; Rolling Thunder Chapter 1 Colorado, P.O. Box 661, Littleton, CO 80160-0661; and the Viet Nam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF), 530 Wilson Blvd, Suite 550, Arlington, VA 22209