Editor’s Note: The news of Neil Morse’s passing is being reported today.

By the time Neil and I met, he was deeply involved in his public relations business. Neil moved everyone he met and he would always approach fellow journalists to introduce himself. He was a rarity in our field; working both sides as a news writer and PR professional.

He did so with ease, because he was such a great communicator. Neil was a jack-of-all-trades and the mortgage finance industry is less without him.

The following passage was provided by a friend of HousingWire, Jay Loeb, who is a vice president at National Creditors Connection Inc. I feel we owe it to Neil to publish Jay’s kind thoughts on a great man.

Jay Loeb:

Neil Morse of Morse Communications was a friend and a business partner to our firm NCCI.

Sometimes you do business with others that you consider acquaintances and other times if you are lucky you get to know them on a personal level. Neil was that to me. 

When you can go to dinner and laugh at yourselves and at life, have lively discussions and truly appreciate the company of another…it’s a good deal. We spent more time talking about his fabulous grandson and his bike riding then we did business, that’s a good thing too. 

When we look back at friend’s lives we should all stop and pick out those qualities that we see that made an impact. For Neil it was humility, grace and respect. He put his clients first and never gloated even when I told him how great his writings were he would just say thank you and change subject. 

He had to deal with me and my “unique” personality on phone interviews with media, not an easy task.  He would sometimes take me aside before the interview to “prep” me. He knew how I could be and this was his  gracious way of making sure I did not embarrass myself.

He was so respectful of our business that he called us personally to tell us that he could not continue due to health issues. It meant a lot to him to tell us how he felt about us personally and the feeling was truly mutual.  

Neil was a valued part of our industry as a professional writer, educator and commentator. You will not find a person to have an ill word to say about him and that tells you something. Let us take from this that our jobs, cars and smart phones are important but not nearly as important as the relationships we build while we have the opportunity to do so. 

Thank you Neil for a great relationship.

— Jay Loeb is vice president of National Creditors Connection Inc. and a friend of Neil Morse