In memory of Patricia Neal

Edgartown, Massachusetts
 
Statement from the family of Patricia Neal
 
Forty-five years after Variety printed her obituary, Patricia Neal died peacefully this morning, surrounded by her family at home on Martha’s Vineyard, the island she so loved. She faced her final illness as she had all of the many trials she endured: with indomitable grace, good humor, and a great deal of her self-described stubbornness.

We are grateful for her extraordinarily full life, which included a long and illustrious career on both stage and screen and was filled with loving friends and family spread across the world. Her remarkable recovery from multiple strokes, and subsequent advocacy for stroke victims, has been a great source of hope to stroke sufferers and their families, as well as a constant inspiration to our family. Her deep and practical dedication to the Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center in Knoxville, Tennessee has made possible the recovery of thousands of patients with brain injuries.

We share our loss with the many communities of which our mother was a warm and ever-gracious part, the stroke-affected families to whom she offered hope and support, and her many, many fans—each of whom it would have been her great delight to thank personally, had time allowed. Together with our mother's siblings Margaret Ann and Pete and their families, our partners, and the grandchildren, step-grandchildren, and great-grandchildren in whom she took such joy, we mourn her death and celebrate a life lived fully and well.  Last night she told us: "I've had a lovely time." So have we.   

 

- Tessa, Theo, Ophelia, and Lucy Dahl   

 

 

Partners In Health
P.O. Box 845578
Boston, MA 02284-5578 

 

Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center
1901 Clinch Avenue
Knoxville, TN 37916