| HEADLINERS: Steven Lloyd Neal |
Steven Lloyd Neal, MD, is a practicing facial plastic surgeon and artist, a true Renaissance man— who lives in Pendleton, Oregon, where he and his wife Susan raised their six beautiful daughters.
Dr. Neal is an artist first and foremost. It was his art background that attracted him into facial plastic surgery. Noticing the strong similarities in both fields, Dr. Neal has fused them together to form his life’s work. Graduating magna cum laude/ high honors in Asian Studies/Pre-med from Brigham Young University in 1977, he went on to receive an MD degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, graduating sixth in his class. He did his surgical residency in Head and Neck Surgery at University of California at San Diego, finishing in 1987.
Dr. Neal has won acclaim in multiple areas and disciplines. He is nationally known in his specialty for the art and aesthetic courses he teaches, and especially for the yearly Art of Rhinoplasty course in San Francisco (years 2000-2015) until its discontinuation. He was commissioned to create the sculpture “The Art & Soul” by and for his professional society, The Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, for its national headquarters in Washington D.C.
In the field of art, he is best known for his achievements and dedication to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and his love for the Book of Mormon. He has painted numerous large paintings of the Book of Mormon, including “Lehi’s Dream” which won the grand prize for the Church’s first international contest, and has been on display for 32 years at the Museum in Salt Lake City. His sculpting talents have given us the beautiful marble statue of the Savior, “Other Sheep I Have…” placed in the lobby of the Missionary Training Center by President Hinckley. His largest work yet, is the massive bronze work, “The Mormon Battalion Monument—Duty Calls” and “Duty Triumphs” featuring 12-foot statues of Brigham Young and members of the Battalion honoring their accomplishments. These were dedicated and placed at This is the Place Heritage Park in Salt Lake City, in August, 2010. He is also the sculptor of the large bust of Larry Miller at Vivent Arena.
But the one work, beyond his family, that will define the life of Brother Neal, is the Monument of the Americas and Garden, a project which has spanned 25 years so far, and at least another ten in the future. It is a sculptural rendering of the Book of Mormon, consisting of more than fifty bronze sculptures, fountains and waterfalls—all woven into a beautiful garden backdrop—currently under construction in the Heber Valley of Utah.
He currently serves in the Church as second counselor in the Walla Walla Washington Stake Presidency. He and Susan are grandparents to fourteen grandchildren