Anita June Ivester Neal

Durham. NC Mrs. Anita June Ivester Neal, 85 of Durham, N.C., died March 25, 2015, at home after a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer. A life celebration was held on Saturday, April 11, at 2 PM, at New Hope Church in Durham.A graveside service will be held at 2 PM on Sunday, April 19, 2015, in Greenlawn Cemetery, Great Falls, SC.Memorial donations are requested to be made in her name to Regional Cancer Care, 4506 S. Miami Blvd., Ste. 150, Durham. NC 27703. She was born Dec. 29, 1929, in Slater, S.C., to Algon and Essie Thelma Bowers Ivester.She moved to Great Falls, SC, at the age of two and was married there on August 10, 1947, to Morris Lee Neal. She moved to Durham in 1968 with her husband and two children. Anita worked in the insurance industry for 25 years, retiring from Investor’s Consolidated Insurance in 1999. She was considered a second mother to her children’s friends and the many members of her “family.” A long-term member of New Hope Church, she hosted two weekly prayer groups in her home for many years. Anita challenged the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer as she did any difficulty in her life. She lived with love, hope and joy, showing by example the best way to outlive any prognosis. She modeled how to live life well and continued to be active in the lives of her large circle of family and friends even as cancer finally took control. Survivors include one son David Neal and his wife Lisa; one daughter Lynn Neal and her husband Dave Bullard; grandchildren Lyndsay (Mills) and Larry Campbell; Grant Neal and Evan Neal and their mother Deb Lovig; and “instant” grandchildren Ben and Tyler Litke.Anita was preceded in death by her parents, husband and brother Joel Ivester. Online condolences may be made to the family at www.dantzlerbakerfuneralhome.com.