Mark Randall Neal

Mark Randall Neal was born April 24, 1957 and was called home to Jesus on February 11, 2026 after a short bout of heart issues.

He was born to Carl and Anna Louise Neal, and older sister Debbie Neal Rice. Mark enjoyed growing up in the streets of Oildale. His love of baseball began at a young age, participating on many teams even into adult leagues where he met some of his lifelong friends. His dad was one of his first baseball coaches and even played with him as a teammate when he was an adult. He was a proud product of Highland Elementary, Standard Middle, and North High Class of 1975. In high school he played football and ran track and was very proud of his team's 4x400 track record they held for 42 years until 2017.

In the summer of 1977 he met the love of his life Pam Childers and they married a year later June 17, 1978. In the years that followed they grew their family, eventually adding six children to their home. Heidi Thompson (husband Shane), Scott Neal (wife Casey), Kyle Neal (wife Brittany), Sally Shamblin (husband Mike), Kimberly Neal (partner Jelani), and Keri Fedderman (husband Malcolm). Mark was also the proud Papa to his nine grandkids; Brooklyn, Bostyn, Jackson, Lincoln, Emma, Grant, Teagan, Logan, and Dominic.

As a teenager Mark started framing houses, eventually ending up working for himself remodeling houses and doing custom woodworking projects. Some highlights of his work were custom cabinets in Buck Owen's office, a miniature western town in the green room at The Crystal Palace, a custom motorcycle rocker for his grandson, and the utensil holder at Coconut Joe's. In 1996, he began his teaching career at East High taking over their construction classes. In 2006, he jumped at the opportunity to reopen the woodshop at North High where he taught until his retirement in 2022. During his teaching years he volunteered his time and talents for The Painted Turtle, a camp for children with serious medical issues. In addition to the decorative pieces he made for the camp, he had his students make wooden shapes for the campers to paint and visited the camp in the summer to repair tools and help with projects. In the years since his retirement he has filled his time chasing his grandkids around, attending all of their sports events and performances, taking vacations, and continuing taking on a few special projects. He loved to spend time in Cambria and often visited the elephant seals. He was an avid Walmart enthusiast hunting for Hot Wheels or whatever clearance item we all needed.

He was a collector of many things, master of wood, and a lover of food. He frequented many local restaurants, building friendships with the owners and staff. He had recently enjoyed catching up with old friends at his grandkid's events, reminiscing about times in Oildale.