APRIL SHOWERS ARE FILLED WITH TEARS

Another beloved community member passes away

When I first moved to Galveston in August of 2005, one of the very first persons I met socially was Neal Fogo. My real estate agent, V.J. Tramonte, who was instrumental in helping me acquire the beautiful property that would become The Island Jewel Bed & Breakfast, invited my partner, Brian Becker, to 3rd Coast Bar, and me then located at 31st and Seawall. Apparently, Sunday afternoons at 3rd Coast was the place to be. Bar owner Todd Farrish had created a fun and relaxed place to hang out, have drinks, network and, if so inclined, stay for a hilarious drag show featuring C.C. Ryder and Marsha Mellow.

I was on the upper deck enjoying a cold beer when I saw two handsome guys walk out onto the crowded patio. I inquired of their names and was told, “Oh, that is Jeff Olsen and Neal Fogo, both really great guys.” I introduced myself and enjoyed a brief conversation with them, and at the time had no idea either would become two really good friends. Jeff was the epitome of a blonde surfer boy and Neal was tall, dark and handsome, sort of the Italian playboy type.

Over the next several years both friendships grew in strength and offerings. When my partner and I ended our relationship in 2008, Jeff, for a while, became my running buddy and helped me with through the difficult adjustment that came with being single after many years of having an “other half.”

I found Neal Fogo to be a fascinating person. He was multi-talented and adept in so many areas. He was a successful DJ, a landscape designer, fantastic artist, accomplished musician and possessed the sweetness and innocence of a child. Neal was simply fun to be around and always had his own take on things and ways of accomplishing tasks. I used to wonder about his mind and how it must look on the inside, as he was constantly thinking, creating or expressing himself in his own style!

Once I hired Rodney Siler, local landscape designer and later bar owner, to construct a beautiful picket fence around the Island Jewel. In those days you rarely saw Rodney without his able sidekick, Neal Fogo. Together the two designed and built gardens, performed construction jobs and provided handyman type work all around the island. They were much in demand and sometimes there was a long waiting period given that demand and respect for their work.

Neal was the hardest working guy and loved working with his hands and seeing things come together. It was fun to watch him and his scattered process of getting things completed. I would often laugh and say, “He is great, but God forbid if a butterfly or interesting piece of anything shows up in the digging — he is off onto it.” I witnessed this artistic trait many times over the years.

Many Sundays the local crowd of guys would gather at my pool for an impromptu cook out or party. We would play music, have drinks and cuss and discuss everyone else on the island. Sometimes we would gather at Woody and Richard’s house around the corner on Avenue N. These were fun times, pre-Hurricane Ike!

Sometimes Woody would slip away and reappear in horrible, trailer park trash drag, as Endora from Splendora, and entertain the group with a lip-sync rendition of “Help Me Make It Through the Yard”. No gathering would be complete without the speakers blasting The Happy Goodmans and Sister Vestel’s “Looking for a City”. Everyone would wave white napkins, form a line and march around the deck. This is when Neal coined the name of our group, The Gloryhole Tabernacle Choir and me as Sister Forestine. Up until his death he always referred to me as Sister Forestine. I loved it.

When I purchased my residence on Church Street, Neal was there to help me “save” the old house and work on drywall and electrical needs. The house and underneath, a raised cottage, was filled with many years of odd things that the previous owner, a hermit/ inventor type, had collected for his projects. Of course, Neal wanted all of it. He could look at old pipes, motors, containers and any piece of interesting “junk,” and see art! He had a knack for this and loved creating beautiful works from often discarded junk — old mannequins, frames, lamps, piano parts, computer parts and just about anything he could find. Some of his later works, recognized and award winning, were composed of such items.

So it was that this Renaissance man, Neal Fogo, was much loved and became an integral part of the community and so many lives. Everyone loved him. Neal was a brightly burning flame with such energy and vibe, there will never be another like him. His close friend Ben Herndon, devastated by the loss, says of Neal: “He was a fascinating man. Full of creative energy and mixed with charm and gentleness, maybe even greatness.”

Neal loved the out of doors and especially fishing. The family ancestral home on Saline Lake, near Natchitoches, Louisiana, is where he spent most of his leisure the last few years of his life when he was able to take a break from his construction jobs. Neal loved his family very deeply and was a constant source of fun and activity for them. For a few years he cared for his aging grandfather Clarence “Nate” Durham, a retired, decorated military officer with a fascinating story of his own. Neal was very proud of Nate and loved to give us reports and share anecdotal tales the colorful man would recall to him. Theirs was a special relationship and one that Neal cherished.

Neal was born on February 6, 1977, and died on March 14, 2025. He had just turned 48. After a very short battle with liver cancer, Neal passed quietly at home surrounded by his loved ones. Susan Butler, who has championed him since birth, is the loving mother he adored and the anchor that supported Neal in all his endeavors and adventures during his life. To say he will be missed is an understatement. Susan will be organizing a Life Celebration/Memorial in the near future.

Fly high, you beautiful, blazing star. Sister Forestine smiles knowing you have found that city that we all sang about on those sunny Sunday mornings. So many of your friends have commented, that where you are now, you are probably already creating and sharing art.

Forest Riggs lives in Galveston. His book, ‘Galveston Memories and Related Stories’ is available at Amazon.com, OutSkirtsPress.com and ForestRiggs.com.

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