Joel T. Werth
Neva Velen was a warm-hearted woman with a wry sense of humor who dearly loved her husband, Al, her children Philip Robert (Bob) and Barbara, and her doggie, Heidi (back in the day). In the '60s, I spent hours and hours and hours in the Velen household as a close and dear college friend -- and then beyond -- of Bob. We talked, played with Heidi and simply hung out in their Lincolnwood home. Many times, our conversations would get a bit rich and provocative as we -- the Boomers -- advanced our opinions about the state of affairs in America -- and heard voluble differences of opinion from Al and Neva.
I probably hadn't seen or heard Neva's voice since Bob moved to New York City in the early 1970s and I stopped going to the Velen house. I can still hear Neva's voice in my ears, though, as she prepared meals in the kitchen with Heidi nipping at her feet.
Rest in peace, Neva Velen.
Joel T. Werth, now in Sarasota, Florida