Jean Chapman Neely

JEAN CHAPMAN NEELY, 94, who spent a career in the U. S. Navy and was a longtime resident of Shepherdstown, WV, died of Parkinson's Disease at her home on December 8, 2025.
She was known in the Shepherdstown area for volunteer activities connected primarily with conservation and environmental causes. Local groups included the Potomac Valley Audubon Society, the Jefferson County League of Women Voters, the Land Trust of the Eastern Panhandle, the Friends of the National Conservation Training Center, the Friends of the Shepherdstown Library, and Shepherdstown Area Independent Living.
She was appointed by the governor in 1990 to the Air Pollution Control Commission (the first woman to be so appointed.) When legislation changed the state's environmental regulatory agencies in the mid-90's, the Commission became the Air Quality Board, and Jean was its first Chair.
Her navy career included assignments in Morocco, Rome, Seattle, Memphis, Norfolk, and Washington. In 1973, she was one of the first two women in the Navy selected for a USN major command, and she retired in the rank of captain in 1976. Neely was an avid birder and traveled to many parts of the world to enjoy her hobby.
She was a 1953 graduate of Bates College and later earned a Master of Science Management degree from the U. S. Naval Postgraduate School. She was also a Diplomate (Graduate) of the NATO Defense College in Rome (1975), where she was the first woman military officer of any country to attend.
Neely was married to the late Captain William E. Neely in 1968; he died in 2006. She is survived by a sister, Elizabeth Chapman Eller of Greensboro, N. C., a niece, a nephew, and several grandnieces and nephews.
Memorial contribution may be sent to the Potomac Valley Audubon Society, POB 578, Shepherdstown, WV 25443, Bates College, Office of College Advancement, 2 Andrews Road, Lewiston, Maine 04532, WV Rivers, 3501 MacCorkle Avenue, SE #129, Charleston, WV 25304, or some like-minded organization.
Services will be private.
Arrangements are entrusted to Brown Funeral Home.
Online condolences may be offered at www.BrownFuneralHomesWV.com.