Obituary for Lew Neff
(Scanned in from the Chippewa Herald Telegram, Thursday & Friday, February 19 & 20, 1998, page 2A)
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Obituary for Lew Neff(Scanned in from the Chippewa Herald Telegram, Thursday & Friday, February 19 & 20, 1998, page 2A) |
Major Lewis H. Neff (U.S.A.F. retired), 53, of 5757 196th St., Chippewa Falls, town of Lafayette; died Tuesday, Feb. 17, 1998, at his home of ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease.)
He was born June 21, 1944, in Baltimore, Md., to Florence (Lottridge) and Leonard H. Neff Jr, His mother died in 1954, and his father married Nancy Pope, who adopted Lew. He moved with his parents to Eau Claire in 1954 and they moved to Chippewa Falls in 1957.
He graduated from Chippewa Falls Senior High School in 1962 and graduated Bom UW-Eau Claire in 1966. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in Jan. 1970, and served in Thailand where he was a navigator on B52 bombers in Vietnam. He also served in Michigan and California.
Lew married Bonnie Williams on April 8, 1972, in Sacramento, Calif. In 1975, he joined the Air Force Reserves full time as navigator in C-5s and then as second seater (Weapons Systems Officer) in F-4 fighter jets (his passion), serving in California, Oklahoma, and Texas, until retiring in 1991) after 20 plus years.
Lew and Joy moved back to Chippewa Falls in June, 1990, where they have resided since, where he was involved in home construction with his wife and good friend, Ken Dunlap. Lew and Joy Lynch were married Nov. 7, 1991, in St. Paul, Minn.
Lew was the co-founder of Northwest Wisconsin ALS Support Group (Lou Gehrig's Disease) and enjoyed his association with members of Chippewa Valley Bible Church. In 1993, Lew was the Eau Claire Area MDA Volunteer of the Year and was the ALS Association National Volunteer of the Year, which is the ALSA's highest honor. Lew devoted the last seven years of his life to raising the public's awareness of ALS.
A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 21, at Chippewa Valley Bible Church, Chippewa Falls, with Pastor Andy Majorins officiating. Military graveside services at Hope Cemetery, Chippewa Falls, wiil follow the service.
Friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at Pederson-Volker Funeral Chapel, Chippewa Falls, and one hour prior to the service Saturday at the church. In lieu of flowers, memorials ta N.W. Wisconsin ALS Support Group in Lew's name would be appreciated.