Neil H. Barger, 61, of Clayton, Delaware, died peacefully at the home of devoted friends on June 10, 2025. He was surrounded by loved ones.
At 6’5”, Neil Barger was a gentle giant of a man. He was creative, bright, insightful, and very funny. Neil was also very kind. His empathy for marginalized people and especially those in the LGBT+ community was boundless. He felt their struggles keenly, as they mirrored his own as a misunderstood kid growing up in a small town.
As an adult, Neil traveled widely and forged lifelong friendships. He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Horticulture from Temple University in 2000. He served as President of the Horticulture Honor Society throughout his tenure there.
He spent years in the field of horticultural sales, marketing and design, including as Head Gardener at the estate of Elise and Pierre S. DuPont IV in Delaware’s Brandywine Valley. Later, Neil launched The Plant Zoo, a wide-ranging native plant emporium in Clayton, Delaware. There, he established new ties to his community, happily cultivated his expansive property, and threw lavish parties. He made sure, always, to share his love for native plants with his close circle of friends. None left empty-handed. All are comforted now by feeling his enduring presence in their gardens.
Neil’s sense of humor was legendary. He once attended both his niece’s 18th birthday party and his nephew’s soccer game dressed as Shrek, towering over other guests in full ogre magnificence: enormous, green, large-bellied (it was a pillow), and sporting trumpet-y ears affixed with spirit gum.
At Fox Chase Cancer Center where Neil received treatment in 2024, folks passing in the hallways offered high fives; the admin staff beamed at his approach; nurses queued up for a chance to laugh at his droll assessment of their ministrations. When he decided to stop treatment in early 2025, he offered his oncologist a parting gift: a mini Ouija board in a small pouch bearing the words, “Let’s Keep in Touch.”
If only. The sound of laughter has diminished in his absence. Bloom in peace, Neil.
Neil was preceded in death by his parents, Fred and Malen Barger of Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, who adopted Neil upon his birth on March 24, 1964. He is survived by his sister, Rebecca Barger, niece, Gabrielle Tuvim, and his former brother-in-law, Reid Tuvim.
Neil is also survived by members of his birth family, whom he happily embraced in his latter years, including his father, Dr. Stephen Rodgers, his sisters, Abby Rodgers and Rebecca Rodgers, and many nieces and nephews.
A celebration of life is being planned for a future date.
Donations in Neil’s name may be made to The Ambler Arboretum of Temple University, 580 Meetinghouse Road, Administration Building, Ambler, PA 19002, Attn: Kathy Salisbury, or by clicking here: https://ambler.temple.edu/arboretum/giving-ambler-arboretum .
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