Neal Norman McCollom

Neal Norman McCollom died at the age of 69 on June 21, 2020, in Fort Worth, TX. He was born on February 16, 1951, in Bartlesville, OK to Kenneth and Katherine McCollom.

Celebration of Life to be announced at a future date.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to The Center of Hope, PO Box 190, Weatherford, TX 76086, in memory of Neal McCollom.

Neal moved around when young with his parents until they settled in Stillwater, OK, in 1964, the original home of his parents. He graduated from C E Donart (Stillwater) High, class of 1969. He played bassoon in school orchestras throughout HS and college. Neal was proud to have received his Eagle Scout and spent summers as a camp counselor telling ghost stories at Will Rodgers boy scout camp.

He received his BS (1973) and Masters (1974) in Industrial Engineering and Management from Oklahoma State University and then went to work at Ethyl Corp in Houston. When at Ethyl, Neal met his future wife, Virginia, and the rest was history. He earned his PhD from Texas A&M (1981), then taught for a year at the University of Missouri.

Following that, Dr. Neal McCollom began a long, illustrious career with Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Fort Worth. He served at team lead on multiple projects and received recognition and publication as an industry expert in Prognostic and Health Management. He was involved in ‘aircraft health’ for his last ten years with Lockheed and earned the title of Lockheed Martin Fellow in 2008 – an honor reserved for the top 0.75% of the technical staff of the Lockheed Martin Corporation.

In 2008 Neal began teaching as an Adjunct Professor for the Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering department at UTA, served on their Industrial Advisory Board, and remained a full-time employee of Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth. Dr. McCollom retired from Lockheed Martin in 2016 after 33+ years with the company. He continued to teach at UTA after retiring.

He was an active member of Annetta United Methodist Church and volunteered with the Center of Hope as a teacher for business and computer classes. He was inducted into The Cowboy Academy for Industrial Engineers at OSU and served on its board of directors.

Dr. Neal McCollom had more professional accomplishments than listed, but they were seldom things he shared. His true passion was teaching, which he returned to throughout his life. Neal was a brilliant, kind, and loving man. It was fitting for him to depart on father’s day as he would say his greatest accomplishment was his children, who will miss him dearly.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to The Center of Hope, PO Box 190, Weatherford, TX 76086, in memory of Neal McCollom.

In addition to his children Jason and Trina, Neal is survived by his grandson, Jase, brother Alan, niece Leslie (Chris), and numerous cousins.

Celebration of Life to be announced at a future date.