Mary Lorraine Neff

A service for Mary Lorraine Neff was held 1:30 p.m. Friday, December 12, 2014 in the Irene Barbara Chapel at Rowley Memorial Masonic Home in Perry. Visitation was half an hour prior to the service. Hastings Funeral Home in Perry was in charge of these arrangements. Pastor Chris Tjapkes of the First Baptist Church in Perry provided words of comfort. Honorary bearers were: Jerry Swanson, Roland Heinz, John Summerson, Donald Hiddleson and Lois Consier. Casket bearers were: Jerry Netherton, Jim Collins, Leon McDowell, Bill Kempf, Jim Kilts and David McDowell. Alan Hall was the pianist. The hymn chosen was In The Garden. Interment took place at Violet Hill Cemetery in Perry. Mary Lorraine Neff, daughter of Roy Elmer Neff and Nina Mae Thomson Neff, was born June 22, 1919 in Bayard, Iowa and died December 4, 2014 at the Rowley Memorial Masonic Home in Perry, Iowa at the age of 95. With her family, Lorraine lived in Bayard until she was four years old, and then moved to Coon Rapids where she attended school through the third grade. The family moved to Perry where she graduated from Perry High School in 1938. After high school Lorraine worked in local stores until 1942. From February 1942 until July 1945 she worked at the Ordinance Plant in Ankeny. She worked at NW Bell from August 1945 until September 1974 in Perry. When the Perry offices closed she transferred to Des Moines, working for the telephone company until her retirement in 1979. Lorraine was a lifetime member of the Baptist Church. She enjoyed traveling, photography and gardening. Lorraine was preceded in death by her parents, brothers Charles Neff, Eugene Neff, and Lloyd Neff; sisters Georgene Richardson and her husband Charles; Bethene Doidge and her husband Herman; and her nephew Darrell Doidge and his wife Donna. Lorraine is survived by her nieces Janice Swanson and her husband Jerry of Clive, IA; Peggy Neff; Mickey Neff and wife Pauline; great nieces and nephews; great great nieces and nephews; special friends Deb and Frank Allen of Perry, IA; other relatives and friends.