Tracy Lee Neese of Allen, Texas, passed away peacefully in the loving arms of his daughter on May 9, 2022 at the age of 89. Tracy was born on September 6, 1932 to Glenn and Maude Neese (Johnson) in Florence, Illinois.
Tracy’s grew up in the town of Pittsfield, Illinois where he spent most of his school years. During this time, he discovered his life-long passion for baseball. He was a left-handed pitcher with an impressive curve ball. Baseball remained one of his greatest loves throughout his life. Tracy graduated from Higbee High School in 1950. Shortly afterwards, Tracy received a congressional appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Unfortunately, his time in the academy was cut short due to a medical disqualification for bilateral hearing deficits. Tracy returned to Illinois and attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he studied business.
In 1955, Tracy moved to Springfield and began working for the State of Illinois, Department of Revenue, as a tax auditor and account manager. He worked for the State of Illinois until his retirement in 1989. Shortly after starting his career, he met the love of his life, Phyllis Ann Noe, also a state employee in the Department of Agriculture. Tracy and Phyllis were married on April 18th, 1957 in Virginia, Illinois. They started their life together in Chatham, Illinois and in 1966, adopted their son Barry. In 1967, they welcomed their second adopted child, Nancy. The family moved to Petersburg, Illinois in 1969 where they lived in a beautiful Victorian home for 10 years. In 1979, Tracy’s job with the State of Illinois required the family to relocate south, to Plano, Texas.
During their time in Plano, Tracy and Phyllis joined Custer Road United Methodist Church and were active members until their move to Holly Lake Ranch in East Texas in 1995. In 2016, Tracy and Phyllis moved to Frisco to be closer to their children and grandson, Connor Neese.
Tracy was also a life-long Mason. He was initiated and raised into Masonic fraternity on May 3, 1958. He was a member of the Flora Lodge #119 in Quitman, Texas where he served as Master of the Lodge in both 2010 and 2011.
Tracy was a loving and involved father and grandfather. He loved spending time with his grandson Connor most of all. Many trips to the beach, fishing trips, baseball games and summers spent together in East Texas provided Tracy with much happiness and wonderful memories.
Tracy is survived by his daughter Nancy Delsey and son-in-law Brian Delsey of Farmersville, Texas; grandson Connor Neese of Portland, Texas; and daughter-in-law Alison Neese of Douglasville, Georgia.
Tracy was preceded in death by his wife, Phyllis; son, Barry; cousin and dear friend, Johnson Stilwell; and parents, Glenn and Maude Neese.
A celebration of life will be held at 2:00 p.m., Friday, June 3, 2022 at Turrentine-Jackson-Morrow Funeral Home Chapel, 2525 Central Expressway North, Allen, Texas 75013. The service will also be live streamed at TJMfuneral.com on Tracy’s obituary page by clicking on the following link: https://celebrationoflife.tv/blog/tracy-lee-neese. After the service, the recorded live stream will be available for viewing at the same link location.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Shriner’s Hospital for Children at www.shrinerschildrens.org.