Neal Catapano (The War Store founder) has died

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**Kid_Kyoto**

Saw this on Facebook and bit of digging shows it's true.

I didn't use the War Store much in recent years but for about a decade it was my first port of call to buy wargames.

Sympathies to his friends and family.

https://riverheadlocal.com/2020/02/08/aniello-neal-d-catapano-55/

Aniello ‘Neal’ D. Catapano, 55
By
RiverheadLOCAL -
Feb 8, 2020, 1:48 pm

Aniello “Neal” D. Catapano of Southold died suddenly on Feb. 7, 2020 at his home. The owner of Catapano Farms was 55 years old.

The family will receive friends on Wednesday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home in Southold. Funeral services will be held on Thursday at 11 a.m. in the chapel at the funeral home. The Rev. Richard Jensen of Hope Reformed Baptist Church in Coram will officiate. The Rite of Committal will be private.

Memorial donations may be made to Southold Fire Department or Southold Historical Society.

**timetowaste85**

Neal was always good to the community and did a lot to make Black Fridays fun. I’d purchased from him numerous times. Best regards and well wishes to his family surviving him. He’ll be missed.

**Vaktathi**

That's sad, The WarStore was *the* spot for years, and was always a pleasure to buy from. Neal was a great dude.

**Mad Doc Grotsnik**

I know The War Store closed its doors recently.

One can’t help but wonder if I’ll health was the reason?

**griffen127**

wow thats sad. My condolences to his family.

**Big Mac**

Damn, sad indeed, bought a gak brick ton of army transport cases with foam, among other things.

**Kanluwen**

Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
I know The War Store closed its doors recently.

One can’t help but wonder if I’ll health was the reason?

It was not. There was a lot of things that happened, which made some rounds awhile back. The TLDR version is that he worked with a church to give felons a chance at integrating back into society and it bit him in the rear with some choosing to use financial information for their own gains.

**Kid_Kyoto**

Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
I know The War Store closed its doors recently.

One can’t help but wonder if I’ll health was the reason?

What little we have says it was sudden so there probably wasn't a long term illness or anything.

**Theophony**

Sad news. Neal was a great guy. Dealt with him over the phone many times.

I feel for his family and close friends.

Losing his business was hard on him as I’m sure it was for the family. This is a double whammy.

**ph34r**

That really sucks. He was a good guy, I bought from the warstore a lot back in my early days of the hobby.

**H.B.M.C.**

Big Mac wrote:
Damn, sad indeed, bought a gak brick ton of army transport cases with foam, among other things.

That's exactly what I bought from him, among a few other things. One of my first big BattleTech orders was to The War Store.

Sad story.

**Monkeysloth**

Sad to hear. The last few years hadn't been good with the embezzlement/theft by employees and such but he had been active on Facebook promoting Noble Night and interacting with people via the Warstore facebook page and seamed in quite good spirits. Sometimes life does suck.

**Ernster**

I made many purchases from the Warstore often Talking to Neal directly. He was a great guy and after an order we would chat it up on other subjects not pertaining to gaming. I am truly sorry for his families loss and his loss of his business.

RIP Aniello ‘Neal’ D. Catapano and condolences to your family.

**Elbows**

That really sucks. I was hoping he'd figure a way back into the business after the closure of The War Store.

**Sabotage!**

Many condolences to his family! I used to order from the Warstore almost exclusively in the early 2000s and always had great experiences dealing with Neal and his employees. He will definitely be missed.

**mdauben**

Sad news indeed. I bought a lot of stuff from the war store over the years. I always looked forward to that message from "Neal at Thewarstore" saying my order had shipped.

JB

This is very sad news. My first foray back into GW products (after playing WHFB 3rd Edition and Rogue Trader) was during WHFB 6th Edition when I ordered Orcs, Goblins, and Stone Trolls from Neal at the War Store. He was great.

**Resting One**

Many orders through there over about 2 decades.

I'm sure his service facilitated a lot of fun games and provided for countless gamers.

Roll those dice overhead, sir.

**schoon**

Very sad and my condolences - the world was a better place for having him in it.

**Kid_Kyoto**

I fear we'll see a lot more of these posts in the coming years, ain't none of us getting no younger.

**spaceelf**

Tragic. A great loss. The world has too few people as good as him.

My condolences to his family and friends.

**Red_Five**

Very sad news. Neal will be missed.

**LunarSol**

Very sad to hear. Neal was where I got some of my very first real minis and seemed to be a great guy all around. Certainly one to be missed.

**NewTruthNeomaxim**

I learned to play tabletop games as a New Yorker, and remember Neal and Warstore feeling like an institution in the hobby. Bought loads of my first models from them too.

A real loss.

**ender502**

This is such a bummer. Neal was a great guy that always was great to deal with. I bought from him back when I was more active in the hobby. He will be sorely missed. Condolences to his family and friends. The wargaming community has lost a great friend.

ender502

**Mac V**

Aww man, that’s terrible. Neal was always great to order from. A true loss to the community. condolences to his family and friends.

**The Power Cosmic**

That is a real shame.

**gorgon**

RIP.

**Easy E**

Rest in Peace. A loss to his family, friends, and to wargaming.

**Red Harvest**

Pressing F.

My condolences to his family and close friends. Warstore was something BITD. I always enjoyed the little "Your reinforcements have arrived" slogan that was printed on my packages.

At age 55 too. Scary.