Neilson J. November – October 28, 1924 – March 2, 2018
Neilson J. November – October 28, 1924 – March 2, 2018
It is with great sadness that we report the news that Neilson November, VAHS Chairman Emeritus, passed away Friday, March 2, 2018, at the age of 93.
Neil’s accomplishments are almost too numerous to mention. He founded the Science Museum of Virginia and was its first Director. He was a founder of the VAHS and President. He was inducted in the Virginia Aviation Hall of Fame in 1993. When the Shannon Collection became available in the 1980’s, he raised the money and supervised the construction of the Virginia Aviation Museum and moved the collection to Richmond. It was Neil that forced the City of Richmond to give up ownership of Byrd Airport when the City refused to make necessary improvements to make Richmond a Hub Airport. He convinced the surrounding Counties to take over ownership and form the Capital Region Airport Commission and he became its first Director. Byrd Field lost its chance to be a Hub (Charlotte picked up the slack), but at least today we have a modern and beautiful airport…
Neil used his many talents in other fields such as the Arts and the November Theater, in Richmond, was named in his honor. He enjoyed flying as co-pilot on the Va. Governor’s aircraft. During WW2, Neil served as the Executive Officer on an Attack Transport (APA) Navy ship that was part of the South Pacific Island Campaign and his ship was attacked by Japanese Kamikaze planes. It was truly an honor to have Neil in this organization. He will be sorely missed.