Obituary of Joseph Herman MacNeil

Joseph (Joe) MacNeil was born on April 13, 1931 in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada to Neil Joseph MacNeil and Mary MacPhee. He was the youngest of seven children and is survived by one sister, Catherine, in Nova Scotia. His other siblings and his mother and father predeceased him.

In 1956, he married Mary Jean (Keating). He is survived by his wife, five children, seven grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.

Children: Janice (Tim) Corrigan, Ian (Janet) MacNeil, Christy (Bryan) McCormick. Neil (Amy) MacNeil, and Stuart (Sona) MacNeil.

Grandchildren: Kate McCormick, Molly (Brandon) Gheller, Rory MacNeil, Caeleigh MacNeil, Joe MacNeil, Aiden MacNeil, and Alex MacNeil.

Great grandchildren: George and Stuart Gheller

Joe graduated from Macdonald College of McGill University. He received his PhD from Michigan State. His first faculty appointment was at the University of Connecticut. He then worked at Lever Brothers as a research scientist. He came to Penn State in 1964, where he worked for 33 years and retired in 1997 as Professor Emeritus of Food Science.

In 1968, he supervised one of the first Peace Corps volunteer groups in India. He also worked with the Agency for International Development (USAID) in Zimbabwe for two years. During his career, he was awarded two Fulbright Scholarships in Turkey and Portugal. He completed short terms of international work in Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Malaysia, Nicaragua, and Peru. Joe was also the holder of two patents, related to egg products.

He was one of the founding members of the Penn State Hockey Club as a player-coach and was recently inducted into the Penn State Hockey Hall of Fame.

Joe and Mary Jean enjoyed traveling the world, but his favorite place was the family cottage in Nova Scotia, where he enjoyed a lifelong passion for sailing.

Joe and Mary Jean moved to The Village at Penn State in 2013. He subsequently moved to the Atrium, where he received excellent, loving care from the staff.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday April 7, 2018 from 2 until 4 p.m. in the Cub Lounge at The Village at Penn State, 330 Lions Hill Road, State College.

Anyone wishing to make a donation in his name, may be made to PAWS, Doctors Without Borders, or your favorite charity.

Arrangements are under the care of Koch Funeral Home, State College. Online condolences and signing of the guest book mat be entered at www.kochfuneralhome.com.