Kevin Glen Neuman

Kevin Glen Neuman of Overland Park, KS passed away on Jan. 2, 2024. The witty red-headed guy who loved his family, greyhounds, puns and good, solid work was 75.

Born in Walla Walla, WA in 1948, he spent his childhood in the Pacific Northwest, doing such quirky and novel things as taking accordion lessons and riding (and crashing) a bike with a basket full of Gene Autry albums. His family migrated to St. Louis, MO and then to St. Joseph, MO, when in 1965 he took a warehouse and delivery job at St. Joseph Surgical Supply, a gig that would lead to his lifelong career in the healthcare products and services industry.

As a high schooler in St. Joe, he took one look at a girl and said, “That’s the girl I’m going to marry.” Graduating from Central High School in 1966, he married that girl, Sherry Jackson, in April 1968.

He started his higher education at St. Joseph Junior College, just as it transitioned to Missouri Western Junior College, now known as Missouri Western State University. The young couple moved to Kansas City, MO in 1968, where he began work with Munns Medical Supply. He watched the Truman Sports Complex being built, completed his bachelor’s degree in business from University of Missouri – Kansas City, graduating in 1970, and became a father when his daughter, Holly, was born a few months later.

His career took the family to Topeka, KS, where he worked with Munns Medical until 1985, ultimately as Executive Vice President. Topeka was where he became a father again, as his son, Cameron, was born. Time in Topeka included patio and deck evenings with neighbors and friends; romps and naps with dogs Brandy and Duke; and memory-building early morning outings with his children to the annual Huff ‘n Puff hot air balloon rally and dinnertime rides, which offered one-on-one time with a singular kid at a time, to pick up Pizza Hut.

In 1986, he began work as Director of CIDA (Central Independent Dealer Association), and the family moved to Overland Park, KS and welcomed a black lab mix they named Sydney. After CIDA was acquired by National Distribution & Contracting (NDC), Nashville, TN, he continued with NDC; in 2009 he became vice president of marketing and operations at Innovative Healthcare Corp., Tulsa, OK, where he remained until his retirement at the end of 2018.

In the early 1990s, his wife watched a TV news segment that featured a retired racing greyhound and some of his most meaningful work of greyhound advocacy began. After adopting their first greyhound, the beautiful brindle Penny Smiles, the couple began working with Kansas City REGAP, Retired Greyhounds as Pets, and ultimately adopted 15 greyhounds over the decades. They began dedicating hours of their time at dog washes, parades, adoption clinics and fundraising bowlathons and garage sales. Joining the REGAP Board of Directors on which they served for numerous years, they conducted home visit after home visit, placing many, many greyhounds in loving homes.

He took his greyhound advocacy national, becoming an officer with GREY2K USA, a non-profit organization dedicated to ending the cruelty of greyhound racing. He testified before governing bodies in Topeka, was interviewed for and quoted in countless media articles and engaged in efforts to end greyhound racing nationwide. He relished the end of greyhound racing in Kansas.

He was known by many names and nicknames, including Kevin, Kev, Neuman, Daddy and Dad, was Grampy to his granddaughters and Poppers to his granddogs (which included more greyhounds). He could MacGyver with the best of them. He made a mean gin and tonic in the summer, told the same corny joke about the bounty of the stockings every Christmas morning and will be forever remembered and missed desperately.

Family includes: his wife, Sherry (Jackson) Neuman, of Overland Park; daughter Holly Shriner, son-in-law Brian Shriner and granddaughters Leah Shriner and Hope Shriner, of Overland Park; son Cameron Neuman and daughter-in-law Niki Newland, of Portland, OR; his brother, Kirk (Anne) Neuman of Apple Valley, MN; in-laws Jay and Mary Anne Jackson (Fairway, KS) and Willadean Jackson (Jefferson City, MO); and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, William L. Neuman and Dorothy Sluman Neuman; parents-in-laws JC and Dorothy Jackson; and brother-in-law James D. Jackson.

No service is planned, but there are suggestions for ways to remember him. Pull a couple of giggling girls in a red wagon. Raise a glass of Dewars and water, with a twist, or a good, cold beer. Peel the potatoes when mashed potatoes are called for, and hide little stick figures on greeting cards and their envelopes. Enjoy the aromas at the spice shop, get into a witty repartee and volley puns back and forth with someone you enjoy. Hug a dog. Adopt a greyhound. Take a good hike in the mountains and then relax by reading a book next to a gurgling Colorado river. Cheer for your sports teams, even in the hard years. Find a cause you’re really passionate about, and do really, really good work.

Financial donations in his name can be made to Kansas City REGAP, Retired Greyhounds as Pets, via https://kcregap.org/donate/ or PO Box 27014, Overland Park, KS 66225 or to GREY2K USA via https://www.grey2kusa.org/give/memorial.php or PO Box F, Arlington, MA 02476.