Neil Harry Vincett

Obituary

Neil Harry Vincett has died, aged 74, at home in the Victorian town of Lancefield on September 13, 2026, the place where he settled happily and wanted to remain forever. 
He is survived by his beloved wife, Lesley, and his sons Simon and Nick, and his grandson Emile, as well as his dear sister Coral-lea Benzie. 
His sudden passing is a shock, especially for his family and his many friends in Lancefield and the region. Neil also leaves behind a network of connections from a lifetime beginning in Brisbane, Queensland, and spanning across Australia and the globe through his senior role with Metcash the parent body of Independent Grocers of Australia (IGA).
We will remember him as full of life to the last.
Finding Lancefield 
In recent years, Neil was passionately involved in the Lancefield Men’s Shed, particularly the organisation’s community engagement. He found fulfillment from fixing beloved items of furniture for people to helping restore an historic bell tower for the Cemetery Trust and he certainly never wanted to miss a visit from the school kids, with whom he could share his love of the practical skills of building and fixing things. 
This love of the Men’s Shed and its purpose compelled Neil to speak up for the group with an article in the local newspaper, the Lancefield Mercury, when a parent suggested the Shed should be moved from being next door to the kindergarten. Neil eloquently expressed the hurt of many in the Men’s Shed and the wider community and opened up the debate to involve the town community and the regional council. 
Neil also volunteered at the Mechanics Institute Hall and became great mates with John Sevenson, President of the Lancefield Mechanics Institute Committee of Management, who has written a lovely tribute in the Lancefield Mercury.
Early life
Neil Harry Vincett was born 2 December 1951 to Evelyn and Harry Vincett of Morningside, Brisbane. He arrived in this world five years after his sister Coral-lea, to whom he was very close whilst growing up. He attended Cannon Hill State School and Balmoral High, but left in year 10 to begin his working life.
As a child Neil took up ballroom dancing and discovered he had talent in his toes. With application and dedication through his teenage years he became a Queensland champion Latin dancer. A catalyst for two major relationships in his life, it was through dancing that Neil met Lesley, who became his life partner, and that Coral-lea, encouraged to dance by Neil, met her husband-to-be, Jim. 
Working life
Neil struck out early in life on a path of self-reliance, self-belief and ambition. From a difficult start, unappreciated by his father, Neil never let any obstacle or set-back prevent his forward progress in life. He benefitted from many mentors over the years but he made himself an asset to every business he worked for, with his dogged determination to succeed.
At first interested in photography, Neil had to give it up when the chemicals proved too much for his skin. He worked various jobs to support himself and put himself through night school to finish his high school qualification. 
Neil found an opportunity in advertising and this was a launching point of a very successful career in the Australian grocery business. With Tickles, QIW, Davids and Metcash, Neil grew in his roles in the advertising and marketing of grocery businesses to become the National Marketing Manager of the IGA brand in Australia. Neil counted as friends grocery store owners from all corners of the country and in 2007 was the first non-retailer to be inducted into the IGA Hall of Fame. 
Personal life
Neil met Lesley Anderson in 1972 and made a good impression with his verve and suggestion of success. They were engaged in March 1973 and married in August 1973. Lesley explains that they were both looking to move on from unhappy younger lives and in addition to attraction they felt they had found each other for the purpose of making a better life together. The dizzying rate of change continued when they were soon expecting their first child. 
The young couple decided they needed to quit renting and buy a house, so Neil took on extra work to save for a deposit. He was already in the Army Reserve in addition to his day job and now started doing cleaning work on the weekends. He said he must have cleaned every pub toilet in Brisbane. 
Their first child, Simon Dain, was born 19 October 1974, while the couple were still renting at Norman Park but the young family were soon able to move to a house they bought in the outer Brisbane suburb of Ferny Hills. Here Neil threw himself into establishing the yard, building garden beds and a mighty retaining wall stretching the length of the block. This was to be the beginning of a lifelong impulse to renovate and develop the family home. 
The younger son of Neil and Lesley, Nicholas Liam, was born 16 August 1978. By 1980 Neil and Lesley were able to upgrade the family home by buying an old Queenslander in inner-city Red Hill. With apparently endless energy, Neil worked his career in business hours and on the weekends played with his kids and renovated and repainted their new house. 
In the mid eighties Neil left QIW to embark on his own business venture. Despite his best efforts, the venture failed and resulted in him losing the Red Hill house. Undeterred, Neil found work in pool equipment sales and the family moved to a rental in Keperra, before he was invited back into the grocery marketing business again by a contact. In just a few years Neil and Lesley were able to buy a comfortable hill-top home with a pool in Arana Hills. 
Now with two primary-school aged kids and working long hours during the week, Neil still made time to take his sons camping and fishing and to all their sporting engagements, in addition to maintaining the pool and the yard. 
Neil was not just perennially busy with practical tasks, he was also curious and eager to learn. He was a keen reader and amassed many books, from novels to non-fiction. He loved a good discussion at the dinner table and was famous for saying “Let’s look it up” before darting off to his library to find a book to provide the answer. This love of learning was a great legacy he left his sons. 
When Neil’s career began to include overseas trips he quickly made sure to include his beloved Lesley. He hated being on his own but more than that, Lesley was a rock for Neil, allowing him to relax his otherwise relentless drive and to rely on her for support.
As Neil’s professional life flourished the opportunity of a national role within the business meant a move to Sydney for a few years and then to Melbourne. By this time it was just Lesley and Neil uprooting and moving, with Simon and Nick having moved out. In both locations the houses occupied got significant facelifts. It was in Sydney that Neil and Lesley got their two beloved dogs Sidney and Brissie.  
Retirement
In 2006, due to health issues, Neil retired from Metcash and IGA, aged 55. His career and achievements were feted when he was inducted into the IGA Hall of Fame in 2007. 
Lesley and Neil decided to return to Queensland and bought a block in the Brisbane Valley outside the town of Fernvale, near Neil’s sister Coral-lea. Here, in the leisure of their retirement, they supervised the building of their dream home and took on the extensive landscaping of the large block themselves. The resulting gardens made a glorious setting and the vegetable plots they established provided a rich bounty.
The Fernvale house became a locus for Vincett Christmas celebrations and family events, though Simon and Nick and their respective partners were well established in Melbourne. However, when Simon and Heidi announced the imminent arrival of grandson Emile, there became a greater imperative for Neil and Lesley to visit Melbourne more often. 
Eventually in 2013 Neil and Lesley decided that to see their loved ones more, they would move to Victoria. Neil in particular wanted a country setting and space for a generous shed. They carefully looked around central Victoria and found their happy place in Lancefield where they have settled into community involvement. John Sevenson’s tribute describes how well Neil fitted into the community.
At this time Neil also took up flyfishing with a passion, becoming a member of the Red Tag and Ballarat Fly Fishers clubs and making many friends in the fly fishing community. Neil’s lifestyle in the regional centre of Lancefield gave him a great deal of joy and fulfillment and it was the place that he most loved to call home.

Rest in peace Neil. 

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