Neil Rackliffe, 77, Businessman, Father, Veteran

Neil P. Rackliffe, a Brecksville resident and Korean War veteran, died earlier this week at the age of 77.

Rackliffe loved spending time with his children and grandchildren, said his wife, Marie Rackliffe. He made time to read with them, and he used to write stories for his grandchildren in other cities on the computer. He also liked to act silly for the children in his family, she said, even dressing up as the Easter bunny.

“He was always a gentle man,” Marie Rackliffe said.

He was also fiercely patriotic—he had even picked out some patriotic songs to be played at his funeral services this weekend, she said—and involved in the community. And he loved to fish, she added. He had been fighting cancer for 20 years, but he didn’t let it slow him down.

Rackliffe was retired from Pickands Mather & Company and Ganley leasing. Over the years, he had been involved in a number of organizations that supported the iron ore business, Marie Rackliffe said, as well as the Cleveland Council of Human Relations and the Christian Family Movement. He also read to students at St. Michael’s as part of the SMILES Program, an opportunity he enjoyed.

There will be visitation hours from 4 to 8 p.m. on Friday at . A mass of Christian burial will follow at 10 a.m. on Saturday at , Rackliffe’s church.

He leaves behind his wife of 53 years, Marie; his children Thomas, Suzanne Stewart (Patrick), Sally, Carolanne Dries (Robert) and Philip (Paige); his grandchildren Vincent, Anita, Stephanie, Chelsea, Emily, Abby, Hannah, Carly, Zack, Ella and Xavier and his brother, Alan.

Services are being arranged by Nosek-McCreery Funeral Home, which provided some of the information above. There are more details on the funeral home’s website, along with ways to leave a message for her family. The family suggests that contributions be made to the American Diabetes Association.