She taught generations of pupils at Haddington Infant School during four decades of service.
Miss McNeill, now 61, was born in Birkenside, but has lived in Tranent since she was a toddler.
She attended Tranent Primary and Ross High School, whe
re she decided early on that she would like to become a teacher herself.
After leaving school she attended Moray House in Edinburgh, where she did her first training courses.
In 1965 she got her first placement at Haddington Infant School, and three years later came back to work full time. She has worked at the school ever since, and admitted that she had loved it from the first moment she went there.
She typically even turned down a chance to retire last year because she wanted to finish work she was doing with her Primary 1 class.
Over the years Miss McNeill has taught entire families of children, and has been at the school long enough to have taught the children of former pupils.
She said that despite her long service, she had been overwhelmed at the reaction to her leaving. She added: "I was going to slip away quietly but since last Friday morning it has been non-stop." Staff at the school organised a tea party for her, which was attended by the acting director of education as well as former colleagues.
Staff presented Miss McNeill with a crystal vase inscribed with the names of the children in her last class, and also presented her with a book of photographs of the children.
She said: "Everyone has been so kind. The parents have been so supportive and I'm going to miss all of the children and the staff. We all get on so well.
"I've even had a letter from a former pupil I taught when she was at the school. It's been wonderful – it's just the kindness that people have shown."
In addition to this she has also been invited to the Queen's garden party at the Palace of Holyrood.
Miss McNeill said: "That will be nice. It will be a totally different experience. This will give me so many memories to treasure."
Now she is looking forward to a well-deserved retirement, and admitted she hadn't made any plans yet.
"I'm just going to chill out and have some 'me' time. I like photography and I want to catch some sunrises and sunsets," she said.
Haddington Infant School headteacher Shirley Swinton said: "She's inspirational and I'm not just saying that. She's at the end of her career and she is still interested, working away and using the interactive whiteboard. She is very precise and caring for the children.
"She is a modest person and is very highly regarded by the parents. In the time that I have been at Haddington Infant School she has been very supportive and very conscientious. Her classroom is a stimulating environment full of calm, happy children."
She added: "We will be sorry to see her go. Everybody on the staff feels the same."
The full article contains 528 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
