Mayor William E. Neis Honored

By Philip C. Ehlinger, Jr. , Asst. Borough Manager

Mayor William E. Neis retired at the end of last year after tirelessly serving his community for 25 years. He served as a Borough Councilman, Council Vice President, and then Mayor. He was recently honored at a reception held at the Waterwheel restaurant, and attended by an impressive list of local officials, family and many friends.

At the event, a long list of Official Proclamations were presented, including those from the County Commissioners, State Senator Joe Conti, State Representative Chuck McIlhinney, Governor Rendell, US Senator Arlen Spector and US Representative Mike Fitzpatrick.

He was also surprised by the renaming of the Borough park, formerly known as Community Fields, in his honor. A large sign for the park on West Street was unveiled much to the delight of the assembled guests. A list of current and former Borough officials and family members took turns recalling their experiences working with Mayor Neis and many sincere and humorous stories were shared.

A lifelong Borough resident, Mayor Neis was born at home on September 4, 1919, and lived on Green Street. He attended the Doylestown Public School System and was an avid student-athlete. During his high school senior year, he caught the game-winning touchdown as the clock ran out giving Doylestown High School the league championship.

Mayor Neis worked at his family's bottling plant before and after World War II. During the war, he served in the States, Canada, and the Pacific Theater, rising to the rank of Staff Sergeant. He married a local Doylestown girl, Doris Leister, on February 19, 1949. He continued to work for the family business, and had a son, William, in 1953. His father passed in 1956 and he then took over the family business. Their daughter, Katherine, was born in 1957.

When the business was sold in 1977, he stayed on and worked with the new owner until 1989. It was then he joined Borough Council and began his political career. As Mayor, he was responsible for the Doylestown Borough Police and during his tenure oversaw the modernization of the Department.

Mayor Neis and his wife Doris have also worked tirelessly with many civic organizations on behalf of the Doylestown Community. He has performed 5,074 marriages during his 17 years as Mayor.

Doylestown is special for many reasons and William E. Neis is among its greatest community benefactors.