He Was Always There For His Son

Neil F. Law Jr. fought in a war, mapped out the first postal route along what would become Spring Hill's busiest street and founded one of the area's most popular golf courses.

None of that is what Neil F. Law III will remember the most about his dad.

"He was always there when I needed him," he said. "And he always treated people the way they wanted to be treated."

The elder Law, 90, died Friday in his home. He spent most of his life in Hernando County, where his father and grandfather each were elected sheriff.

Law served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He returned to his hometown after the war and bought a new home with his wife on Howell Avenue - east of Croom Road.

In 1952, he began his career for the U.S. Postal Service. His son, who goes by Freddy, said his father was the first mail carrier to drive the route along U.S. 19 corridor in Hernando County.

In 1970, Law dedicated his 160-acre cattle farm near Croom Road, which would become the Brooksville Golf and Country Club one year later.

"Helping others is never a burden," Law would tell people. "If you treat folks well, it will come back to you 10 fold."

Neil Law's wife died in 2001. Soon thereafter, his own health began to deteriorate.

Realizing this, his son refused to put him in a nursing home. He looked after his own dad, with the help of caretakers.

On Friday, he died in the very place his own father died, Freddy Law said. It was important for him to be at home.

The phone was ringing at Law's house all day Saturday and Sunday.

His eyes were bloodshot as he flipped through a book he had written for his father on his 90th birthday last December. It was a special gift for him.

Then the phone rang again, for what seemed to be the 100th time.

A friend was calling to offer his condolences.

"This leaves a big whole in my life," Law told him, "but you've got to keep truckin', you know?"

After he hung up, he went back to the book.

He had written a tribute to his father on page one. It explained what he had always thought of him.

"I feel blessed and privileged by God to have a father who has always been there for me and my family," he wrote. "I love you, daddy."