Louise Elaine Nehl was born in Washington, D.C. on January 19, 1954, and passed away in Magnolia, Texas on January 8, 2026.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Arthur and Mary Jane McNerney.

Louise is survived by her loving husband, Louis F. Nehl; her sisters, Kathleen Harris, Sharon Venker, and Sheila Leacock; her brothers, Kevin McNerney, and Robert McNerney; and numerous nieces and nephews.

EULOGY FOR OUR DEAR SISTER LOUISE NEHL

The silence is deafening!

It has rarely been quiet when with my Sister, Louise Elaine McNerney Nehl.

"What was that?"------Must be a question from above amongst the many angels for whom who Louise had mementos , pictures, candles, statuettes, Mass Cards-----you name it, she was surrounded by angels most of her life!  Our family has teased me for my whole life that I must have 7 Guardian Angels, one for every day of the week!

Louise had an army of Guardian Angels who started accumulating,  about at age 14!

"Is it a shooting star-----this soul coming our way?"

No way I say! Louise was a fiery comet who blazed her way through a life of loving, caring, helping others------and full of mischief, fun, family, friends and more than her fair share of hell raising!

Hang with me with, another view------she reminded me of the nun (hang in there…..I'll make sense of that comparison!!)  Maria, played by Julie Andrews in the classic musical The Sound of Music…..and what her fellow nuns sung to her as they returned her to follow her heart and continue nannying the children of Captain Von Trap----

They sang "How do we solve a problem like Maria??  How do you catch a cloud and pin it down??  How do you find a word that means Maria??"

Mom and Dad undoubtedly had their version of this song, and it would not surprise me if Lou Nehl didn't hum a few bars himself on occasion!"

Wow, wow, wow----what a life Louise Nehl lived!!!

The silence is indeed deafening!

Louise Elaine McNerney was born the first baby girl in several generations of a huge Irish Catholic family, with roots from England, Scotland and Germany too. She was the eldest daughter of the 5th generation of the McNerney clan from our hometown, Washington D.C.

Think about this-----as the first girl in generations, she worked hard to get here-----Louise was born after Michael, Greg, Patrick, an infant who only survived a few days, and two boys who passed before birth!  Five boys and then onto the scene comes Louise!  Her work was cut out for her even before all the rest of us were born.  We grew up with 8 of us, 4 boys and 4 girls.  Her name was an easy choice for Mom and Dad as both of their Mothers were named Louise!

Louise was stylish, brash, fun-loving and very, very competitive!

Her resilience is legendary!  The great NC State basketball coach Jim Valvano's last public words resonate in defining the core of our Dear Louise---

"Don't give up!  Don't ever give up!"

And she never gave up, not for a second!

Louise broke a lot of glass in her life, and she picked up just about every single piece of it and made those many situations right.

I was very pleased, proud and happy to meet her Son, my nephew, Jay.

Louise has fought like the Dickens, with Lou at her side, all the while dealing with his own health challenges…these two love birds (Maybe love Lions! Or Wildebeests!  Or Wart Hogs! Are better examples….)have grown older together and faced health challenges.   Oh Lord has Louise fought and so has Lou!

The two of them met when Louise went to work for Lou in Melbourne, Florida……she was a bit younger than him!  After a stint in Peoria, they made their way to Texas-----and settled in and adapted to boots, guns, dogs (Archie and Axel!!) cats---lots of cats, for a while at least, and ostriches……Louise's career flourished in Texas in the mortgage industry.  She built her own business and a reputation as a go-to mortgage lender who could find a way for every strata of hopeful homeowners.  She helped thousands attain their dream of owning a home, from first time buyers to buyers of mansions, and everything in  between!

Louise's hallmarks with her customers were the same as for her friends---great, personalized service, loyal always, fair and demanding.  She never met a stranger!

Louise gave and cared a lot about her family and community.  She sponsored her own Little League baseball team and assumed and acted like the owner, General Manager and Team Mom!

Louise's heart was pure gold!  You wanted her on your team, though you best had been aware because you could not control her!

She used to insist on playing against the boys, often her Brothers, and play her heart out, whether she was skilled in the game being played or not!  One time, she famously blocked a shot of our oldest Brother Michael in a coed basketball game----and he hit the ground hard and was in a sling for weeks!

Man oh man could she dance!

Louise loved music, she was after all a card carrying member of the McNerney Sisters Singers as a youngster!

Louise was a lover, a fighter, a great friend, an enigma for sure!  And sshe was a wonderful Big Sister and personality.

She would…..and did, speak to anybody, ESPECIALLY THOSE IN NEED!

I will forever think of Magnolia and how Lou would try to 'CORALE' Louise……He'd raise his voice, sometimes smiling, other times not so much, in attempts to control her…." Attention"-----that distinctive draw of Lou.  "LOUISE!!"

But I will, and our entire family, generations really, will always remember Louise's greeting them or starting up a party.  She would shout:

"AHHHHHH—OOOG---GAHHHH!!"

I love you my Sister!

Please now------Rest in Peace.

We'll be keeping an eye out for fiery red comets hovering over Texas or Florida or Washington D.C.