Dr. W. Neal Kocurek (1936-2004), beloved civic and corporate leader, possessed a special gift of bringing people together to achieve progress in areas such as health care, public education, higher education, transportation, water, social equity, and regional stewardship. Born in Austin, he graduated from Austin High School as salutatorian and earned B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from The University of Texas at Austin.

He was a co-founder of Unitech, Inc. He also served as an advisor and founding investor in Radian Corporation, where he ultimately became a senior officer and member of the board. He retired in 1998 as an Executive Vice President.

After retiring from Radian, he served St. David’s Health Care System as President and CEO for the last six years of his life, overseeing a period of unprecedented growth and transition as St. David’s became one of the largest health systems in Central Texas. He was passionate about creating a structure to coordinate healthcare for the poor among regional providers and to address the root causes of health problems in Austin.

His reach was felt far and wide in Central Texas, and he enjoyed the esteem and trust of leaders throughout the community. This distinguished Texan was the devoted husband of Mary Kocurek and the proud father of three children, Jeffrey Kocurek, Kelly Kocurek, and Suzanne Rose.