Gary John Neeleman was born 1934 February 4 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Neeleman was a member of the Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-day Saints. While on a missionary, he mastered the Portuguese language. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Utah.
In 1958, when he was only 24, United Press International hired Gary to move to Brazil as a foreign correspondent. He remained in Brazil for nearly seven years. During the time Gary was there, he covered many important stories and got to know famous world leaders. He exclusively interviewed Fidel Castro. He helped UPI break the story that Israel had kidnapped Adolph Eichmann, the former Nazi high official responsible for organizing the Holocaust, who was living secretly in Argentina. Gary got the scoop from a confidential source. Gary personally knew two Brazilian presidents and interviewed Brazil's soccer king, Pelé.
In 1985, Gary left UPI and took a job as a business executive with the Los Angeles Times Syndicate. Rose was his executive assistant.
In 2003, the United States State Department recognized him as the Honorary Consul to the country of Brazil. In 2023, Utah Governor Spencer Cox declared December 14 as "Gary Neeleman Day" in Utah.
Neeleman passed away on 2024 August 20. He was married to Rose Neeleman. The couple had seven children.
Source: "Gary John Neeleman 1934 - 2024." Legacy, August 27, 2024. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/saltlaketribune/name/gary-neeleman-obituary?id=56115114.
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Collection Name, Collection Number, Box Number, Folder Number. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, The University of Utah.
Donated by Gary Neeleman and the Neeleman International Honorary Consul of Brazil in 2014.
Processed by Special Collections staff.
See also
The Gary J. Neeleman papers (1919-1943) consist of 10 Brazilian newspapers, a paper by Neeleman, and
1910: volume 2, number 3; volume 2, number 4; volume 2, number 8; volume 2, number 12; volume 2, number 13; volume 2, number 14; and 1911: volume 3, number 1; volume 3, number 2; volume 3, number 3; volume 4, number 4.
5-page computer printout.