J.W. Neal was a prominent Houston philanthropist and businessman. He came to Houston in 1903, opening a branch of the Cheek-Neal Coffee Company, a distributor of Maxwell House Coffee. In 1928 the Cheek-Neal Coffee Company was sold to General Foods and J.W. Neal became chairman of the board of the Second National Bank, a position he held until his death in 1940. J.W. Neal supported various philanthropic organizations, including the Memorial Hospital Children's Fund. J. W. Neal died August 31, 1940.
Neal's son, J. Robert Neal, served as Vice-President of the Second National Bank while his father served as chairman of the board. J. Robert Neal also served as head of the Houston Park Board in 1938.
From the guide to the J. W. and J. R. Neal Collection MSS 0004., 1906-1940, (Houston Metropolitan Research Center, Houston Public Libary)
