Joel Neville, 66, wife of singer Submitted by N.O.V.A. Times Picayune 01-6-2007 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ************************************************ Joel Neville, the wife of singer Aaron Neville through nearly 48 years of personal and professional highs and lows, died Friday of lung cancer at the family's home outside Nashville, Tenn. She was 66. "We've been together since we were kids," a grieving Aaron Neville said Friday. "I met her when I was 16." Over the years, Mrs. Neville naturally fell into a supporting role in the family business. She encouraged Aaron Neville's younger brother Cyril Neville to pursue his own ambitions as a singer. Cyril Neville has referred to her as "my second mother," and often auditioned songs for her. "She was everybody's mother or big sister," Aaron Neville said. Aaron Neville wrote "Yellow Moon," the title track from the Neville Brothers' 1989 album, about his wife when she was away on a trip. Because of her inspiration, he credited her as the song's co-writer. Mrs. Neville, born Joel Roux, grew up in the Garden District as the daughter of a golf pro. She graduated from St. Mary's Academy. As an adult she worked for more than 20 years in the business office at Charity Hospital. She married a 17-year-old Aaron Neville on Jan. 10, 1959. In the Neville Brothers' 2000 autobiography "The Brothers," Aaron Neville described meeting "this cute little Creole girl. I was struck by her good looks and beautiful energy. Beautiful personality, too. Something about her made my heart melt." She sang at Saint Joan of Arc Catholic Church with a group called the Debettes. During their courtship, Aaron Neville often played piano with her group. Her father, however, disapproved. And with good reason. As his singing career slowly progressed, Aaron Neville struggled with drugs and petty crime. In the 1960s, money was often tight. Even after his "Tell It Like It Is" hit No. 1 in 1967, he worked as a longshoreman to make ends meet. During a particularly bleak period, Mrs. Neville banished him from their home until he resolved to clean up his act. Eventually he did, and he reconciled with the family she kept together in his absence. "She tamed me," Aaron Neville said. After a collaboration with Linda Ronstadt in the late 1980s and a string of successful solo albums, the family's fortunes vastly improved. The Nevilles moved first to a new ranch-style brick house at the end of an eastern New Orleans cul-de-sac, and then to a sprawling two-story home in Eastover, a gated community in eastern New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina's storm surge destroyed that house. Aaron and Joel Neville bought a hilltop home in Brentwood, Tenn., just outside Nashville. Aaron Neville believed that returning to New Orleans might aggravate his severe asthma and endanger his wife's health. Mrs. Neville was diagnosed with lung cancer several years ago. After treatment, the cancer went into remission. But it recurred in Nashville last year. "I wrote a song called 'I Can't Imagine (Going Through This Life Without You),' " Aaron Neville said. "On my last CD, I did classics, like 'Stand By Me' and 'Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone.' All of those songs had a different meaning, because it was right after the storm, and because of what Joel was going through. They became prayers. "I know she asked God to take her, so he came and got her. I couldn't help her." In addition to her husband, survivors include three sons, Aaron Neville Jr., Ivan and Jason Neville; a daughter, Ernestine Neville; her mother, Beatrice Roux Taylor; two brothers, Dr. Vincent Roux of Washington, D.C., and John Roux; a sister, Bettina Roux; and six grandchildren. A wake will be held Friday at 6 p.m. at Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church, 1835 St. Roch Ave. A Mass will be said Jan. 13 at 10 a.m. at the church. Visitation will begin at 8:30 a.m., with recitation of the rosary at 9:30 a.m. Estelle Wilson Mortuary is in charge of the arrangements.