Cathryn Neff

Cathryn Marie (Comstock) Neff passed away on the 25th of August, 2021 at her home in Tonganoxie, Kansas, following a prolonged illness.
Visitation and funeral service was Monday, August 30, 2021, at Chapel Hill-Butler Funeral Home, 701 N. 94th St., Kansas City, Kan. Interment followed in Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens. The service is still available on Chapel Hill-Butler’s Facebook Page. Please log on to facebook.com/ chapelhillbutler to view the livestream of Cathryn’s service.
Cathryn was born February 27, 1934, to Byron Herbert Comstock, Sr., and Marian (Curry) Comstock in Lakeland, Florida. Cathryn lived in Canada as a child with her mother and beloved stepfather, Jack Parkes, and in Florida as a teenager where she grew close to her father and to her stepmother, Margaret Comstock. She graduated from Florida’s Lakeland High School in 1952 and worked as a bookkeeper as a young woman.
She took a job transfer to Kansas City in the mid1950s, which afforded her the opportunity to live closer to her two brothers, “Tony” and Tom, both of whom she adored. Tom introduced her to a coworker, and the love of her life, Kenneth Glenn “Joe” Neff, whom she married on May 25, 1957, at Stony Point Christian Church in Kansas City, Kansas, where she remained a faithful member all of her life.
Cathryn began what she considered her life’s work in December 1958 with the birth of the first of four children. She and Joe and their family lived in Kansas City, Kansas, until 197l, when they bought a house and acreage near Tonganoxie, Kansas. Together the family transformed the home and property into a beautiful farm where they raised beef cattle and grew a large garden. Cathryn was involved in parent-teacher organizations, the Leavenworth County Extension Service, and 4H in support of her children and community. She cooked, sewed, decorated, put up hay bales, mended hearts, and mended fences (literally and figuratively) in her role as a Christian wife, mother, and grandmother, which she took very seriously. Cathryn especially enjoyed hosting extended family, neighbors, and friends for dinners and celebrations at the farm. She also enjoyed a close-knit group of Bible study friends. In later years, she was known as “Nana.” Her greatest joys and concerns were for the progress and welfare of her grandchildren. Following a life altering stroke in 2011, Cathryn retained her sense of humor and unfailing concern for those she loved. Her legacy of grace to her children and grandchildren is one of love, kindness, long-suffering, and unwavering faith in her Heavenly Father.
Cathryn is preceded in death by her parents and stepparents, her husband, and her older brother, Byron H. “Tony” Comstock Jr. (wife Barbara, of Cameron Park, California). She is survived by her younger brother, Thomas J. Parkes (wife Blanca), of Banning, California, her son, David Joseph Neff (wife Kristi) of Overland Park, Kansas, her daughter Deborah Lynn Wade (husband Don) of Rossville, Tennessee, her daughter Mary Ann Hayden, AGNPC (husband Dave) who served as caregiver to Cathryn in Tonganoxie from 2011 until the time of her death, and her son, Christopher Matthew Neff (wife Suzanne) of Katy, Texas.
She also is survived by seven grandchildren, Andrew Neff, Daniel Neff (wife Noelle), Stephen Wade (wife Kristen), Matthew Wade (wife Ashley), Jonathan Wade, Joseph Hayden, Stephanie Neff, and David Neff, by two step-grandchildren, Ty Hayden (Erin) and Ryan Hayden, by three great-grandchildren, William Wade, Olivia Wade, and Audrey Neff, and by many beloved nieces and nephews.
Special gratitude is extended by the family of Cathryn to Prestige Home Health Care of Kansas and her attendants aiding in her care for the last seven years. Amanda Coffman, Carolyn Clayton, Cassandra Miller, and Naiya Patel. Appreciation for all the end-of-life care to Douglas County Hospice and their staff.
Anyone wishing to honor Cathryn’s memory is invited to contribute in her name to Happy Helpers 4H Club, 613 Holiday Plaza, Lansing, KS 66043 or Wayside Waifs, 3901 Martha Truman Rd., Kansas City, MO 64137 www.waysidewaifs.org.