Neil Parikh

Eulogy, March 21 2025

I´m Alan, Neil´s younger brother. As my mother will remind you even today, I was the kid that always tried to tag along but couldn´t quite keep up with Neil and his friends. So I did what for me was the logical next best thing - I went home and read his comic books, then his books.

Neil had a lot of books. I tried to make sure that I read everything that he read, and in those days before Kindle, before Audible, you could tell if a book had been read cover to cover. The book would take on that squashed rhomboid shape that told me Neil had finished it, so I should read it. That´s how I found Tom Wolfe, John McPhee, Edward Abbey, Nelson Algren.

And didn´t everyone read Harpo Marx´s autobiography "Harpo Speaks!"? Well, no, it turns out. But Neil did, and so I did.

Then when he went away to college I got to inhabit his music collection, vinyl in those days. Now Neil never complained about me listening to all of his records, not even once. As I relentlessly dragged the diamond stylus of his turntable across his precious vinyl, he seemed to have the bemused attitude, "Well, that´s what it´s for".

Later on I built my own collection in large part by borrowing Neil´s, and my college friends would ask me, (admiringly, I like to think), "where did you find this stuff?" I just shrugged. It was like the air I breathed, like the ground I walked on. Neil assembled worlds for me to inhabit.

Now many of us know of Neil primarily as an engineer. Archeologists studying the ruins of Ancient Rome, the baths, the aqueducts, the water mills, frequently come upon design features and mechanisms that baffle them. Upon further study and reflection, they often realize that those features were solutions devised by Roman engineers to address daunting technical challenges, brilliantly crafted to take advantage of the limitations of the materials available at the time. What is wild is that we know almost none of the names of those great engineers. They didn´t put their names on anything. They were wholly focused on solving the mechanical problem at hand, credit was irrelevant. I think of Neil as a modern incarnation of those great unknown ancient engineers.

He started early. Starting as a teenager he would build huge bookshelves to hold his collection. They were solely designed to hold books - you would never put a vase or a knickknack on them. You will never find these bookshelves at IKEA. They have shelves specifically designed to hold mass-market paperbacks, or larger premium paperbacks, or standard hardcovers, etc. They are not aesthetic triumphs by any means. But they are magnificently functional, spectacularly utilitarian. Later he would build vinyl record stands along similar principles. These structures invite you to explore the riches that Neil had found, and pick out something for yourself to enjoy.

Now his works are all over the world, including the sidewalks of downtown Chicago and the runways, taxiways and tarmacs at O´Hare. Next time you fly into O´Hare, after you land you might take your phone off airplane mode and track your own progress, using Satellite mode on whatever Maps app you prefer. You´ll watch your plane carrying you from the runway to the grid of taxiways, to the apron where your jet will be neatly stacked along with all of the other jets waiting for their gates to open up. Or maybe you´re in Chicago, on Wacker Drive, where you can stride sidewalks so smoothly contoured that you will never have to take your gaze away from the skyscrapers above.

I miss Neil. But to me, who still inhabits the worlds he so generously assembled, Neil will always be an "Is", never a "Was". And for all of us, as long as those runways, tarmacs, and sidewalks stand, Neil remains with us, like the ground beneath our feet.

I am so saddened to learn of Neil's passing - which I heard about, when I bumped into another CMJer at a family funeral. Neil was so kind and also funny . I too learned how to canoe from him and enjoyed his and Barb's sense of humor as we giggled around the camp fires. My heart and prayers go out to the whole family and hope that you find solace in knowing how many souls were impacted by Neil's presence in their lives.

A good man, a good engineer, a good friend. I miss him, will miss him and so will everyone who knee Neil. A GOOD MAN.

Neil was a wonderful man and my condolences go out to his family.

I have nothing but fond memories of times spent with Neil and his family. We kind of lived parallel lives; Robinsons in Oak Park and Parikhs in Skokie. We would intersect at Sergio's Place when I was performing there or at gatherings of friends, going back to Hyde Park and our Hawaiian parties in New Town. He and Barb visited us in Washington state after we moved there. My love and condolences go out to the extended Parikh family - Barb, Grace, Gordon, Sara, Alan.

Hi everyone. Dad's Memorial Service will be on March 22, at 2 PM.

Location:
Alice Millar Chapel (Northwestern University Campus)
1870 Sheridan Road
Evanston, IL

Neil will always be remembered for his unmatched ORD expertise and exceptional mentoring as well as for the warmth and positivity he radiated. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.

My memory is of get togethers in the Chicago suburbs when we were kids. Our parents were great friends, and Neil was the eldest boy in the group. Even then, he had a gentle soul and a sly sense of humor. We will miss you, Neil.

I was one of those campers Neil taught to canoe. CMJ was an amazing place. Neil was the kindness, patience, and joy at its heart. I am a better person for the lessons I learned.

I'm simply devastated to get the news of Neil's passing. As everyone knows who was ever graced by Neil's presence, he was a wonderful friend and a most humble leader--always quietly, but emphatically leading others to success with everything he had. In fact, when I was a newbie at O'Hare many years ago, I will never forget that it was Neil who accompanied me to my very first meeting, patiently making sure I understood every angle of the issue like a calming father-figure (and then, typical of Neil, giving me all the credit for our success!). I regret that we were not able to work together in recent years, so I just offer my warmest condolences to so many friends and family mourning the loss of this great man. I would certainly look forward to celebrating Neil at the upcoming planned memorial service. In the meantime, I will plant that tree and make a donation to the American Cancer Society to honor his enduring memory and legacy.

Neil was an incredible mentor to me. When he "retired" to his reduced hours we traded workspaces. He took my cubical and I got his office. I never wanted to leave that cubical because I would just roll my chair into his doorway and chat about work or kids. I tell everyone I´m in Neil´s office; it will never be my office. Megha´s quote is so spot on. He would calm everyone down with his demeanor and get to work figuring out what the real problem was and how to solve it. My favorite line from him was, we are here to get fired and he had a good severance package if that happened. That was never going to happen to Neil, but we sure solved a lot of problems together. He will be sorely missed and always remembered as one of the best.

Please accept my condolences. Neil was an incredible person, a great leader, and an amazing mentor. He lead by example and that was always with honesty, humor, and humility. He treated everyone with respect and knew how to resolve differences with grace to all. But he also knew how to get the decisions made and keep everything moving. Rest in peace, my friend.

I am sorry for your loss, my condolences to the entire Parikh Family. I had the honor and privilege of knowing Neil since the early 90's, we begin working together back when the Airport Program was titled "O'Hare Associates" we often talked about the old days. Our very friendly conversations were almost never about work, but about what we had in common coming from Chicago Public Schools and being on the southside of Chicago. We talked about sports and the hilarious crazy things that have happened around the office over the many years. In age, we are only one year apart, and we recently talked about retirement, being close in our conversation, but far apart in reality, he was a dedicated Engineer forever.

I cannot find the words to really express what Neil meant to me, he was great man, calm, quiet and peaceful. A good friend and coworker. Dedicated to his profession, his family and friends. He will be truly missed.

Thanks Neil, God Bless!!
James Outlaw

I am so very sorry for your loss. He was a kind man that took the time to just say Hi, see how your doing. We didn't work together but we worked in the same building for years. Always had a smile on face no matter what.
God Bless
Kimberly Swift

Please accept my heartfelt condolences. I've had the pleasure of working with Neil for over 25 years - first met him in his McClier days when I was a young Civil Engineer starting out in the Aviation Industry in Chicago. He helped me massively & always had time for a technical question or give advice. We worked on O'Hare Modernization Program for a long time - Neil was one of the few who stuck it out all the way to the last runway opening. A proud moment for us all.
He was a great teacher for me & many others - I truly looked up to him as a mentor. His calm demeanor, balanced view, phenomenal technical knowledge & leadership jedi-mind skills helped us all navigate through some weird and wonderful problems together as a team. Neil was also one of my favourite people to sit down & chit-chat with - he always had a smile, a funny story & something positive to say that lifted peoples spirits. I feel sad he didn't get to retire properly in the end - he deserved that. I'm so glad I had the privilege of crossing paths with him. He was one of the good guys & made the world a better place. I will really miss him. Rest in Peace my friend!

My deepest sympathies to the Parikh family, Truly one of the nicest, friendliest and kindest people I have ever known. Even when I pushed all the buttons he would just laugh. I loved sitting in his office and just talking about stuff. He had a special way of just keeping things calm and cool. Thank you Neil, we will remember you always

A smile always greeted you at the door.

Gordon and family. Sorry to hear of your loss. Our prayers are with you and your family.
John and Linda Gearman.

The best lesson I learnt was from Neil, whom I first met many years ago at O´Hare and that was to "be nice". I am still trying my friend, you were the nicest. RIP.

The best leave too soon. He was a quiet gentle man with a witty sense of humor. He will be missed! Marilyn