Gladys Neff

Gladys V. Neff celebrated her 74th wedding Anniversary April 1st in heaven with her late husband Paul. Her last words on the morning of her passing were to him and we know they are together now.

Gladys Verna Winkelman Neff was born October 11, 1925 in Farmerstown, Ohio to Gottfried Winkelman of Switzerland and Alice Knutti Winkelman of Sugarcreek. She was the last remaining of nine siblings and their spouses and is preceded in death by two brothers, Warner, Arnold, and Floyd (Joann), and five sisters, Bernice (Paul) Pittman, Pauline (Ernest) Amacher, Ida (Dolph) Miller, June (Jim) Mattison, and Esther (Jake) Zedi. Gladys is also preceded in death by her sons Kenny and Doug and her grandson Timothy C. Weirich Jr.

She is survived by daughter Shirley (Johnny) Espenschied of Dover and granddaughter Tamara (George) Benson of Strasburg; great grandsons SGT Brendan (Heather) Wiandt of Hawaii, Alexander (Deidra) Wiandt of Dover, SPC Jonah (Kierstyn) Wiandt of Kentucky, Naomi (Dylan Bantum) Benson of Dover, Kate (David) Hadley of Holyhead, North Wales and Nathan Benson of Llandudno, North Wales; and great-great-grandsons Harvey, Logan and Marshall all whom she loved dearly.

Gladys lived a truly remarkable and interesting life and loved sharing stories with everyone she met. She left school at 12 when her father died in order to help support her family. During WWII she volunteered at the canteen at Dennison Depot, serving the soldiers as the left for war, and worked at the Timken plant in Canton as well, joining the ranks of fellow “Rosie the Riveters” across the country. Later, she worked at Alsco in Sugarcreek and served as union president standing up for the rights of her co-workers. She was an avid bowler, a lover of polka music and dancing, and a member of Shanesville Lutheran Church.
She never backed down when she felt she was right but was quick to apologize when she was proven wrong. There is not one member of her family who hasn’t experienced her generosity in some way. There wasn’t a friend who didn’t find comfort with her when they needed it. We will miss her dearly and remember her fondly but we know she is in very good company and will be waiting for us with her beautiful smile someday.

The family will greet guests on Sunday, April 7, 2019 from 1-3 PM in the Geib Funeral Center at Dover where Minister Barb DeBord will lead a service celebrating Gladys’ life beginning at 3 PM. Following the service, cremation care will be conducted by Geib’s Tuscarawas Valley Crematory and a private burial will take place in Ridgecrest Memory Gardens at a later date.

The family requests that memorial contributions be made to Relay for Life, c/o American Cancer Society, 525 North Broad Street, Canfield, Ohio 44406.