By Lauren Cullen
Staff Writer
On Tuesday, September 4, Westford Academy’s beloved bus driver and sports photographer Victor “Cheerio” Neal passed away of lung cancer.
Cheerio was famous in the WA community for driving to sports events and taking pictures of every game he could. In an interview last year, Cheerio said he would remain driving and photographing as long as he was capable of doing so, and that’s exactly what he did. He was active among all of the sports teams, and was the fan everyone could always count on showing up.
“His dedication to Westford Academy was impeccable and admirable,” said junior Natalie Bishop.
“Cheerio was never just our bus driver,” said Raeann Gembis, the varsity field hockey coach. “He was a big part of our team.He truly cared about the girls, [and] always went the extra distance.”
Other coaches explained how Cheerio was a great supporter and also about the treats he brought to games to cheer up players.
“He always had mints and cookies to offer after tough losses,” said Russell Coward, the varsity girls’ basketball coach.
Coward says what he will miss most is teasing Cheerio on his ability to get to sports events earlier than anyone else, and his friendly attitude.
Along with coaches, players close to Cheerio also have favorite memories.
“I’ve known and been close with Cheerio since before I was a freshman at Westford Academy,” said Bishop. “He was an entertaining driver…making the sharpest turns and driving on the narrowest roads. He even made cars move out of his way! It was hilarious.He’s definitely been one of my role models.”
“I thought of Cheerio as being a sort of grandfather to all of us,” said sophomore Julia Kinney. “The Westford community knew his presence, in some way or another, in their lives.”
“My favorite memory of all time was in 2010 after WAGS [Westford Academy Girls Soccer] beat AB [Acton-Boxborough] for the first time in years,” said Beth Spinazzola, a varsity soccer player of 3 years. “Cheerio pulled out a picture of Katie Enos and said with tears streaming down his face that we won because she was looking down on us! It just made me realize how much of a caring heart he has!”
Edward Enos, the father of Katie Enos, who passed away in 2010, also shares his favorite memory.
“On one of the hardest days of my family’s life, Cheerio helped to record the sad memory for us,” said Enos. “After asking if it was okay, he sat quietly and took pictures of Katie’s funeral so that we would be able to have them later.”
Throughout Cheerio’s 23 years in the WA community, he has been there for many big WA wins, including the swimming and diving team’s state win last year.
“Cheerio was very involved with the swimming and diving team,” said Coach Caitlin Klick. “Last year when we won states he was on deck with us cheering and taking pictures.He was always so happy to be involved with our program, driving the kids, taking pictures, and being our #1 fan.”
Every WA sport seemed to be Cheerio’s favorite. At each game he would wear his WA gear and start taking pictures as soon as the referees blew the game-starting whistle. When the game was over, he would add the pictures to his website for the athletes to view.
“We will miss the thousands of photos he would take and share with us each season,” said Gembis. “But we will miss his presence on the field the most.”
Although every athlete and coach at WA has their own favorite memory of Cheerio, one thing is for sure; WA will miss their number one fan.
