Neil Gardner Barclay

Neil Gardner Barclay

April 7, 1938 – August 17, 2022 (Age 84)

In loving memory of Neil G. Barclay - Our very loved husband, brother, and uncle departed this life suddenly and unexpectedly on August 17, 2022.  He has been reunited with his sweetheart Sandy and is now at peace.

 Neil was born to Joseph Gardner Barclay and Sarah Margaret Lyon Barclay on April 7,1938 in Pocatello Idaho.  He was the first of three children to bless their family.  Neil lived in Blackfoot Idaho with his family on the family’s sheep farm until the age of 7 when his father unexpectedly passed away.  At this time, his mother purchased a home in Salt Lake City and moved her children there to be closer to her family.  Neil spent his teenage years growing up in the beauty of the Wasatch Front.

Neil developed a passion for literature and the theater at a young age and pursued his education at the University of Utah where he received his undergraduate degree.  While attending the U, he performed in many plays.  He loved to perform and was very good at it.  He would often “perform” for those around him even if he wasn’t actively involved in a play, acting silly and performing impressions up until the time of his passing.  He was very good at imitations and telling stories.  He also had a very distinct voice which led to an opportunity of voice acting.  He was able to play the part of Laban in the first animated production of the Book of Mormon Stories.  This is a fact that his nieces and nephews loved to share with their friends.  He also performed at Summerstock in Virginia City, Montana. He loved the theater and went on to obtain an advanced degree in Theater Arts in California

He had a quick wit, loved to tell jokes (sometimes naughty ones) and had an infectious laugh.  He played the piano by ear and loved to sing (which may or may not have driven his siblings nuts as they drove across the country on their family vacations) He loved classical music and the opera and attended the symphony for many years with his brother David.

Neil served in the U.S. army for 2 years and had a great love for our country.  He also loved Zion’s National Park and spent 3 summers working there where he loved to climb Lady Mountain behind the lodge.  That was back when the park was run by the Union Pacific Railroad and had a swimming pool.  He met lifelong friends while working in the park and returned to visit its beauty on many occasions.

Neil met his sweetheart, Sandy, at the University of Utah.  They were married in Salt Lake City on October 2, 1965.  Together they lived in Virginia City and San Francisco before making their permanent home in Salt Lake City 46 years ago.  Neil joined the Catholic church with his wife Sandy and had a great love of God and his son Jesus Christ and all His creations.  Neil adored the many cats that he and Sandy shared throughout their married life.  He even continued feeding Sandy’s little squirrels in his yard after her passing. 

He was an intellectual and such a talker.  He could carry on a conversation for hours.  He loved VW Beetles and could most recently be found zipping up the streets of Millcreek City in his bright red turbo beetle, much to our chagrin.  Neil was content to be by himself and found himself to be rather good company.  He could also be found in the company of a good book as he was a voracious reader.  He would spend hours each day reading and smoking a good pipe.  They went hand in hand.  He often read to his wife Sandy before her passing.  They were inseparable.  In Sandy’s words, Neil was “the jelly to her peanut butter, the icing on her cupcake”.  They were truly in love.  Upon her passing, he was deeply saddened.  There was not a day that went by that he didn’t think of her.  He loved to reminisce and share his precious memories of their life together.  In those few years since her passing, Neil could be found playing cards, watching Murder She Wrote or Inspector Morse while eating Kookaburra Old Fashioned Black Licorice, introducing someone to classical music or Frank Sinatra, feeding Sandy’s much-loved squirrels, smoking his pipe while reading while a kitty slept on his lap, or enjoying an ice-cold Coke and a pint of Haagen Dazs which he had every day.  Yes, every day. 

Neil was a beloved husband, brother, and friend.  He is survived by his sister Nancy (John) McMurray, brother David (Claire) Barclay, his brother-in-law Gordon (Nancy) Pritchard of Fort Worth Texas and 13 nieces and nephews as well as his dear friends.  He was truly unique, one of a kind.  We will truly miss his presence but are at peace knowing that he has been reunited with his sweetheart, Sandy.  May they both rest in peace.