Neal A. Germain died at his home in Ruidoso, N.M., surrounded by friends, on Sept. 12, 2021, after prolonged treatment for cancer. He was 67.
The son of Howard Germain and Rhoda (Perlstein) Rossmoore, Neal was born on May 20, 1954 in Manhattan. He grew up in Stamford, Conn. and spent summers in Provincetown starting when he was six years old.
He and his three siblings would leave the house each morning, free to explore as they chose as long as they were home by dinnertime. They made the West End Sailing Club their center of operations, learning to sail and making lifelong friends.
In 1975, as a student at Cape Cod Community College, he traveled abroad on a student visa, exploring the Middle East and Europe. He made extended stops in Israel, where he lived on a kibbutz, and in Greece, where he worked in a café. A voracious reader, he kept his books in a cardboard box, which became a mobile library from which he lent and traded books with the customers.
Neal returned to the U.S. in the late 1970s and lived for a time in Provincetown. He opened his first restaurant, called “The Place,” in Truro. It closed after three years. He then took a job at the Surf Club in Provincetown, while also serving as a member of the Provincetown Volunteer Fire Dept. throughout the 1980s.
In 1991, Neal moved to Ruidoso to open a new eating place, PizzaRio. It was so successful that it had to be relocated to a larger venue two years later, and was renamed CaféRio.
For the next eight years, he was owner, business manager, and chief cook. Because he employed many local teenagers and young adults, often giving them their first jobs, he was seen as a father figure by many. According to his nephew Daniel, he “raised a generation of Ruidosan kids with his sharp-tongued wit.” CaféRio became a community that fostered camaraderie between staff and customers. Neal was known “to dole out tough love,” said Daniel, adding that CaféRio still has that reputation.
Neal moved on from the café but remained a mainstay in town. He worked in a smoothie shop, then as a bartender, then as a clerk in a ski shop. He had no “ego investment,” Daniel observed, just a commitment to community.
In later years, Neal became the family anchor of the home his grandparents had made in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. He stayed through the winter, making new friends in another community that appreciated his strong character, wicked humor, and caring presence.
He is survived by his nephew Daniel Germain of Provincetown, his sister’s only child; his nieces and nephew Nicole Germain of Jacksonville, Fla., Alexis Germain of Philadelphia, and Schuyler Germain of Tampa, Fla.; his brother David’s children, and a large community of friends and other family.
Neal was predeceased by his brothers Andrew and David Germain and his sister, Amy Germain. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Humane Society of Lincoln County in Ruidoso, N.M., or to the West End Sailing Club in Provincetown.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Nov. 6 at Wingfield Park in Ruidoso.
