Morgan Smith Neely

Morgan Smith Neely, age 18, of Asheboro died Friday, December 30, 2011 at his home. A graveside service will be held on Thursday, January 5, 2012 at 2:00 pm at Oaklawn Cemetery with Rev. Brian Gawf and Rev. Connie Weaver officiating. A celebration of Morgan's life will be held following the graveside service at Pinewood Country Club. Morgan was born in Guilford County on June 17, 1993 to Ryan Reynolds Neely, Jr. and Elizabeth Anne Murchison Neely. Morgan was an Eagle Scout, a member of Boy Scout Troop 525 at the First Presbyterian Church of Asheboro, attended the National Jamboree in the Summer of 2005, and was a Brotherhood Member of the Order of the Arrow (National Scouting Honor Society). Morgan received several scholastic achievements including 1st Place Earth and Space Science, Junior Division and 2nd Place Earth and Environmental Science, Senior Division in the North Carolina State Science and Engineering Fair Awards; the Certificate of Achievement from the U.S. Air Force for an Outstanding Science or Engineering Fair Project; was nominated for the Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge; was awarded NOAA's "Taking the Pulse of the Planet" Science Fair Award; the North Carolina Student Academy of Science State Competition-1st and 3rd place, High School; and received the International Sustainable World Energy Engineering Environment Project Olympiad Bronze in 2009. He was preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, Ryan R. Neely, Sr. and Stella Hudson Neely and maternal grandparents, Kenneth L. Murchison, Jr. and Elizabeth Smith Murchison. He is survived by his parents, Ryan Reynolds Neely, Jr. and Anne Murchison Neely of Asheboro, NC; brother and sister-in-law, Ryan R. Neely III and Emily Rader-Neely of Boulder, CO; aunt and uncle, Melody and Dee Jackson of Asheboro, NC; cousins, John Jackson and his wife Candace of Fuquay-Varina, NC, Mary Lee Jackson and her fiancé Matthew Hoyle of Fuquay-Varina, NC; aunt and uncle, Lynda and David Rettew of Charlotte, NC; cousins, Jennifer McCall and her husband Sam of Wilmington, NC, Darren Rettew of Los Angeles, CA; extended family members, Jane and Scott Hager of Asheboro, NC, Annie and John Blunk of Chapel Hill, NC, Michelle and Jamie Hager of Greensboro, NC, and Peter Gatti of Arlington, VA. Donations may be made in memory of Morgan Smith Neely to the North Carolina School Of Science And Mathematics, 1219 Broad Street, Durham, NC 27705 or Boy Scout Troop 525 c/o First Presbyterian Church, 420 West Walker Ave., Asheboro, NC 27203.