Neal John Kinney

Born October 11, 1942 to the late Joseph and Sarah Kinney; Neal passed away, surrounded by his loving family, at the age of 83 on April 12, 2026. Neal is survived by his wife Susan of 54 years, their two children Matthew & Sara (Rob Smith) Kinney, his sister Donna Kinney, his grandson Honor Kinney, and an extended Cahill family who long ago embraced him as a fifth brother, as well as too many friends to count.

Neal always said the two smartest things he did in his life was attend Walnut Hills High School and marry his wife Susan, whom he met during his long career at Cincinnati Bell where he worked his way up to Human Resources manager. He was a graduate of the University of Cincinnati and was one of the lucky few who enjoyed every day of his work. Even after taking early retirement from Cincinnati Bell, he couldn’t stand the idleness so founded his own Human Resources company. As an independent consultant he worked for some of the biggest companies in Cincinnati and travelled all over the country recruiting at some of the finest schools. But he was also generous with his time, sitting on local boards like the Hyde Park Center and raising money for cancer research.

In his free time Neal enjoyed travelling with his family and friends. Whether it was camping in Michigan, staying in a hotel on the beach in San Diego, a condo in Florida, or enjoying a glass (or two) at a winery in Napa, he always felt right at home and made others feel the same. He was a patron of the local arts: a longtime subscriber to Playhouse in the Park and the Cincinnati Symphony. He loved jazz music all his life and was long a regular at the Blue Wisp jazz club.

His years of work in human resources colored the rest of his life. He kept a motivational saying framed in his office, “Take an imperfect job and an imperfect candidate, and make a perfect match” and that’s what he did every day of his life; he was a master at making connections, to himself and connecting others. He could turn a stranger to a friend as easy as most could say hello … and that’s what makes saying goodbye to a husband, father, brother, and grandpa so hard.

Neal beat cancer 20 years ago and heart disease 10, he left this earth as he lived on it, peacefully and on his own terms.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date.