Walter Joe Neidhardt

Neidhardt Walter Joe Neidhardt, recently of Dublin, Ohio, died peacefully early Friday morning, 5 July 2013, with his family at his side. Joe was born March 5, 1929, and grew up in Spencerville, OH, graduating from Spencerville High School in 1947, and from Ohio Northern University in 1951. Joe was preceded in death by his parents Walter John and Anne Oressa (Berry) Neidhardt and his sister Lt. Col. Nell Jean Neidhardt, USAF (ret.), as well as by his adored and loving wife of nearly 60 years, Rev. Donna (Iler) Neidhardt. He is survived by his sons Neil (Nanette) Neidhardt of Ostrander, OH, and Ned (Lisa) Neidhardt of Los Angeles, CA; and daughters, Laurie (John) Sullivan (Los Angeles), Lisa Cook (Columbus), and Linda Neidhardt (Upper Arlington). Joe was the proud grandfather of Lauren Oressa Neidhardt (Brooklyn, NY), John and Daniel Sullivan (Los Angeles), and Jessica Miller (Davidson College, Davidson, NC); and faithful companion, Maggie. He also touched the lives of the many dear friends he made over the past year at Trillium Place. Joe was a road and bridge builder, both in his long career as a Civil Engineer, as well as in his life of service to his family, his church, his community, and his profession. As his father had before him, he took his charge from Isaiah, to "make the rough places smooth and the crooked places straight," and served as an engineer in significant work with the United States Air Force, V. N. Holderman & Sons, R. W. Wander, and Kokosing Construction companies. Ubiquitous and peripatetic, Joe lent his talents to the rest of us through his service to the widest range of causes and interests: the Franklin County Board of Education; the Central Ohio Joint Vocational School Board of Education; UNIGLOBE Travel; the Ohio Society of Professional Engineers; the Builders Exchange of Central Ohio; the Ohio Contractors Association; the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce; as a blood and platelet donor and volunteer with the American Red Cross; as a reader with the Central Ohio Radio Reading Service; as a Precinct Judge for the Franklin County Board of elections; with Riverside Methodist Church; the Dublin Community Church; the Infrastructure Project for the Development Committee of Greater Columbus; the State Underground Parking Commission; as Manager of Accessibility Improvements for COSI; as organizer of the Martin Luther King Day celebrations for Dublin, Ohio; as a sponsoring Host Family for international graduate students at The Ohio State University; with the Cum Christo and KAIROS ministries; with Strader's Garden Centers and the Master Gardeners of Delaware County; the Alzheimer's Association (throughout our mother's long illness); and as the strongest possible recruiter and cheerleader for his alma mater, Ohio Northern University. Please visit with Joe and Donna's family and friends at RUTHERFORD CORBIN FUNERAL HOME, 515 High St., Worthington, Ohio 43085 on Monday 8 July, from 6-8 p.m., and join us for a Celebration of Life Service at the Dublin Community Church, 81 West Bridge St., Dublin, Ohio at 1 p.m. Tuesday 9 July 2013. Joe's family offers the most heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to the hospice services of Ohio Health and Kobacker House, whose work made gentle our parents' passage. Condolences to family may be sent to www.rutherfordfuneralhome.com

Walter Joe Neidhardt

July 5, 2013