John Melvin Mcneill

Portsmouth, - John M. McNeill, 70, of 2121 West Main Road, Apt. #305, Portsmouth, RI, formerly of Calfornia and Stamford, CT, died Sunday, August 31, 2003 at Newport Hospital Newport, RI due to complications from lung and heart disease. Born in Birmingham, MI, on June 18, 1933, he was the son of the late Thomas and Helen Melvin McNeill.Mr. McNeill lived in Pittsburgh, PA from 1941 to 1954. He attended Penn State University and graduated in 1955 with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering. Upon graduation, Mr. McNeill served two and a half years in the Air Force until 1958, when he was honorably discharged a First Lieutenant. He began his professional career as a sales representative for Olin Corp. in New York in 1958. He was manager of marketing when he left in 1969 to form his own company, National Cryo-Chemics, Inc., based in Stamford, Conn. He lived in Stamford from 1966 to 1986. Under NCI, Mr. McNeill spent many years working with the oil industry to develop ways for enchancing oil recovery. Mr. McNeill developed and patented a method for extracting more oil from wells in which the pressure has declined to a point where natural means fail to bring it out. The portable plant he created was used by companies such as Chevron, Exxon and Mobil at their oil wells. His invention garnered him a listing in the 1975-1975 edition of Whos Who in the East Coast. While living in Stamford, Mr. McNeill was very active in the Stamford Yacht Club, rising to fleet captain as a Flag Officer and serving as race chairman of the clubs prestigious Stamford-Vineyard Race, an annual race held over Labor Day weekend, on numerous occasions. Mr. McNeill moved to Portsmouth in October of 1998 from Marina Del Rey, CA. He is survived by his son Sean B. McNeill of Newport, RI, his daughter Regan McNeill-Ural of Mill Valley, CA, his stepmother Mary Hiss of Del Rey Beach, FL, his sister Nancy Dodgson of Atlanta, GA, his half brothers Jim McNeill of Philadelphia, PA, and Tom McNeill of Atlanta, GA, his half sister Jeannie Kaulakis of Cedar Rapids, IA and one grandchild.Services and burial will be private.