Gordon Neumann Jr. Obituary

Gordon Richard Neumann Jr. died in Des Moines on November 8 at the family home his parents built and where Rick lived most of his life.

Rick was born in Des Moines on September 30, 1950, to Mary Jane Gray Neumann and Gordon Richard “Dick” Neumann.

He was a long-time member of the Nyemaster Goode law firm. He started there as a law clerk in 1975 during law school. Rick’s mentor was a fine lawyer named Ed Hansel. He and his colleagues helped build a law firm that stands today as an institution with fine young lawyers.

Rick graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School and attended the University of Colorado, Boulder. He graduated in 1972. There he met John “Butch” Wilson and Bill Tinnerman. They traveled many miles together and experienced so much of life. They shared a long and lasting bond.

After graduating, Rick spent a year or more with Butch and his good friend and comrade from Iowa, Rod Schrage, in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, working at the Ski Haus and working on a ranch. He returned to Des Moines and graduated from Drake Law School in 1976.

At Nyemaster Goode, Rick had a broad range, transactional business practice that included life insurance, healthcare and agribusiness. It reflected the business community in which he worked. He was proud of his ability to put things together and to find a way to get deals done.

Rick married Elizabeth Montgomery in 1979. He and Liz have been inseparable, and he's always said that she has represented for him the human embodiment of all of life's sweetness and joy, and of course, much more. He loved her positive outlook and sense of adventure.

They lived in the house that Rick’s parents started in 1952. It grew organically over time as pieces and parts were added. For 45 years, they shared the bed that Rick made for them, a cherry four-poster bed.

He is survived by Liz and his three loving children, Jeannette Elizabeth, Eleanore Robins, Neil Montgomery, his daughter-in-law Jackie Joan and two grandsons, Sawyer Jude and Jackson Gray. He is particularly proud of and pleased with their active engagement in life and community, positive view of life and moving forward with a variety of interests that will sustain them.

One of the things Rick was proudest of was how he and Liz gave their family a sense of adventure and exploration on their travels through the Western United States, Europe and South America.

He is also survived by his sister, Jane Elizabeth Neumann, and her husband, Karl Haegele Chun, their two sons, Nicholas Gordon and Benjamin Karl Neumann-Chun, and his brother, Alan Gray Neumann. He had wonderful memories of growing up with his brother and sister and the joy they had with their parents. He often said that his brother and sister were not just siblings, they were friends.

Rick is preceded in death by his parents and grandparents, Jeannette Gordon Neumann and Harold Carl Neumann, who co-founded Neumann Brothers construction company, and Marie Epperly Gray and Gaylord Edward Gray, whose sand and gravel business excavated what would become Gray’s Lake.

Rick wanted to specifically thank his longtime friends in Des Moines and afar for their steadfast communication through admittedly difficult times. He hopes these words have captured the joy that comes with being 74 years old and having reached a moment when he could look back with such positive feelings about what has happened and to the future.

His family is grateful to Dr. Charlie Lozier, Dr. Daniel Buroker, Dr. Thomas Buroker, who also cared for Rick’s father, and the nurses and staff in Des Moines. Rick’s family also thanks Dr. Steven Horwitz and the team at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, who are working to further the science that prolonged Rick’s life.

In lieu of flowers, Rick’s family suggests a memorial donation for the Gray’s Lake Playground and Sprayground project, which Rick championed. Contributions can be made online at http://www.friendsofdmparks.org/rickneumann or by mailing a check to Friends of Des Moines Parks, 1551 E. MLK Jr. Parkway, Des Moines, IA, 50317.

The family is hosting a gathering in honor of Rick at the Des Moines Art Center from 5pm to 7pm on Thursday, Nov. 14 with some remarks from 5:45- 6:15 pm.

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