Mr. Louis F. Neves, age 79, of Lynn, passed away peacefully on December 19th at Salem Hospital following a lengthy illness.

He was widowed by his late wife Joyce J. (Shepherd) Neves of Lynn.  Born in Lynn, he was a graduate of Lynn English High School (Class of 1959).

Following his graduation, he entered into an apprenticeship program as an (Oiler) for the Local 4 (Heavy Equipment Operators) Union of Boston.

He recently celebrated an award for 50 yrs. of service to the Union. He used to share stories of how when he was an apprentice and greasing up the many types of heavy equipment, that he used to go on up on them when no one was around before his shift and experiment and teach himself on how to operate the heavy equipment. He actually said that at one time, one of the agents noticed him running a piece of equipment and was asking who was on that particular machine because they were so impressed with how he was operating it even though they didn't realize it was Louie. That's how he learned to run the many pieces of heavy equipment. Because back then they didn't send you to school to learn how to operate, you had to either ask one of the operators whose machine you were oiling to let you learn on their machine or you had to just take the initiative to teach yourself when no one was around. To say the least he became one of the best operators in the Union in his day and was always employed because of it. He was a second-generation heavy equipment operator for the Local 4 surpassed by his father Louis B. Neves who also served the Union for over 50 yrs. and was an instrumental part of bringing his son into the Union and driving him to his first job as an oiler. One of the most amazing stories that Louie shared with his family and friends was when the time he was working at the " BIG DIG " in Boston and a piece of very expensive heavy equipment was working in a hole and the barriers that were preventing the water from entering that area started to breach and the only way to save that particular piece of machinery was to use a enormous crane to try to lift that machinery out of the hole before it got consumed by the onslaught of water. Now this happened after the operator of the enormous crane had already left for the day and the Superintendents were scrambling to find someone who was qualified to run the crane, but like he stated, this enormous crane was a multi - million piece of equipment and if anything were to go wrong, not just the machine in the hole would be lost but even the possibility that the crane could fall into the hole by the share force that it would take to lift the piece of heavy equipment out of the hole. So as Louie shares the story, he said there were some other operators of different heavy equipment at the site including him, and Louie said to the superintendent that even though he never ran such an advanced and enormous crane, he was confident that he could save the day. He said that there was one particular man who was trying to convince the boss that Louie wasn't the guy and it was too risky to save that piece of machinery in the hole by jeopardizing losing the crane as well, but at that moment the superintendent looked at Louie and asked if he was confident that he could accomplish this important task and Louie said that he would die trying. So as Louie tells the story, he gets up onto the crane and discovers that the controls are completely different and more modern than any crane that he has ever operated, so like when he was an apprentice, he just starts to experiment with the joysticks and levers and takes about ten minutes to understand how this particular piece of machinery behaves and functions. So after getting familiar with the crane, he looks down to the boss and gives him a thumbs up and starts to move the crane to the retraction site. He shared how he was at the same time nervous but confident in his belief in his abilities to pull off such a daring attempt. He tells how once he lowered the boom down to the men in the hole and they fastened the cables to the piece of heavy equipment, that he just stopped and breathed slowly to calm himself because his heart was racing. Once he started to lift the equipment up out of the hole, he noticed that the weight of the machinery was so heavy that it started to force the crane to tilt forward and could lead to him and the crane going into the hole also. So after jockeying the crane back and forth and at the same time lifting the machinery out of the hole, he said that it seemed like eternity but he was successfully able to save that piece of equipment and the day. Now just picture the scene, where all the workers that were on the job and the bosses were just watching with suspense and holding their breath while Louie was doing something that no one really knew if it was going to be successful or not; but was trusting a man's ability and his word that he was the man for the task and he pulled it off. All I can say is " Amazing". I wish that I could have been there to see that.

Louie was also a huge Boston sports fan and loved to get together with his sons to watch the Patriots game on Sunday followed by a good Sunday meal. He really enjoyed sitting down to a hearty home cooked meal and top it off with dessert. He was the only man that we knew that wouldn't even digest his meal before he was asking for dessert. His Mom and his daughter in law Karen would have to tell him that he would have to wait until one mess was cleaned up before another from dessert. That used to drive him crazy. He loved to cook as well, especially his famous fried haddock complimented by a Portuguese rice called "Jaag". He found his way around the kitchen pretty well for a construction worker though. He would experiment just like he was used to doing on the heavy equipment in the Union. Actually that's how he learned to play the guitar as well, he never took a guitar lesson but was self taught and played the guitar and organ by ear. He could just listen to a song and play the melody by sound which is pretty amazing. He also liked to watch wrestling when wrestling wasn't such a rehearsal like today. He was a big fan of Chief Jay Strongbow, Bobby Backlin, Andre the Giant and of course George the Animal Steele. It was that kind of entertainment that brought out the kid in him and was special to watch with his children. And we have to mention one of his favorite sports of all, professional boxing. From Muhamad Ali to the modern fighters of today, he would love to watch a good fight with his family. One of his favorite fighters of this era was Manny (Pac Man) Pacquio. Besides sports he was an avid boatsman and belonged to the Volunteer Yacht Club where was a member in good standing for over 30yrs. He used his talents as a heavy equipment operator to run the crane at the club hauling boats and pulling and putting the floats in during the boating season when called upon. Everyone that met Louie at the club always commented on how much they loved him. His nickname at the V.Y.C. was " Drambuie Louie" because that was his favorite liquor and if the club didn't have Drambuie then my Dad would leave, so everybody knew that they had to have at least one bottle on hand for Louie even if nobody else drank that particular liquor. Over the years people used to comment on how much fun they had with Louie up at the club while he was singing along with other members as they enjoyed their favorite songs of old and enjoyed each other's company. It really was a second family for my Dad and he always had good things to say about his pals at the club. He loved to take his family and friends out onto his boat (Lady Ann) which he named after his late mother Ann. He was quite the Captain of his vessel due to his ability to operate machinery that maneuvering that 38ft. Hatteras seemed like second nature. But most importantly his most loved possession in his life was his family. He was a proud father, grandfather and great grandfather. He loved the small children and told all of his grandchildren and great grandchildren that if they ever wanted to go to college then he would be privileged to pay for it. And that's exactly what he did for a few of his grandchildren that wanted a higher education after high school. He was a family man and wanted nothing more than for all his family to come together for the holidays. He always said that when it came to the holidays, everybody had to put their differences aside for the sake of celebrating the holidays with family. As for Louie, he worked hard, played hard and ate hard, but beneath all that manly bravado he was a kind, loving and a caring man and all who had the privilege to meet him were affected by his loving attributes. He will be greatly missed but never forgotten. Rest in Peace!

He was the son of the late Louis B. Neves and Ann T. Neves of Lynn. He was the brother of the late Richard P. Neves, Rose M. Wallace of Lynn and Carol A. Neves of Brockton, Ma. He leaves three sons and a daughter, Louis M. Neves Jr., Laurie M. Neves, Mark A. Neves of Lynn and Dana R. Neves of Georgetown, Ma. He was the father-in-law of Karen D. (Boulay) Neves and the late Danielle (Parziale) Neves. He leaves behind eight grandchildren, the late Michael T. Neves, Pamela Fleuriel, Diane Mazzola, Jonathon Neves, Jay H. Perruzzi, Dana R. Neves Jr., Cote L. Boulay and the late Joshua S. Boulay. He also leaves behind eight great grandchildren, Arianna N. Neves, William R. Boulay, Leo W. Boulay, Carter M. Neves, Isabella R. Neves, Julianna E. Neves, Haley J. Calnan, Jordan M. Mazzola. and many nieces and nephews.