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A Fond Farewell to Frank Neher...

Daniel Franklin "Frank" Neher

Dear Greathouse Cousins,

Many of you know that Rick and Lynn... and others... had been trying to contact Frank Neher for some time now. It is our deepest regret to tell you that he has passed on.

Most of you know that Frank was the original Records Coordinator for our Greathouse Cousin Network. He gathered and connected the majority of the family information on Greathouse Point today. Without him, there
would be no Greathouse Point or Greathouse Mailing List.

Frank was one of the most generous genealogists you could ever encounter. He and his wife Verna transcribed records for cemetaries all over Wenatchee County, WA. Many can be found on the Internet credited to them. Frank served on several genealogy mailing lists. While he can not be found in any of our families on Greathouse Point, and he was not a descendant of our Groethausens, he was connected to the Swearingen family, which has strong ties to the Greathouse family.

How extraordinary that he would take on such a monumental effort for a group he was only connected to distantly! Frank only gave up the work when his health would no longer allow him to do it. He remained available for consultation and his friendship was priceless.

A little information follows about Frank:

Daniel Franklin "Frank" Neher, twin to Milton Neher.

Birth: 27 APR 1917 in Wenatchee, Chelan County, Washington

Christening: JUL 1942 in Kapaa, Kauai, Hawaii

Married: 16 AUG 1942 in Hilo, Hawaii to his beloved Verna Claire Hutchings

Death: 27 May 2004 in Wenatchee, Chelan County, Washington

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Frank played high school basketball. He served in the U.S. Armed Forces and received a service connected Medical Discharge for Tuberculosis, (arrested 1949). Frank loved fly fishing, camping, travel and gardening. He played saxophone in the Gene Dolman dance band 1938-1940. Frank was an active member of the Wenatchee Elks Lodge No. 1186. He was Exalted Ruler 1975-1976, and Northeast District Deputy GER 1983-84. He served as Bulletin Coordinator and President of the Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society.

He was the Records Coordinator for Greathouse Point and the Greathouse Mailing List, and a Founding Father of our project.

We owe Frank Neher a huge debt of gratitude. We shall all miss him terribly.

If you would like to express your sympathy by letting Verna and his family know just how much Frank meant to us and that they are in our prayers during this time of loss, you may sign our sympathy book for Frank and his family.

[Sign our Book] [View our Book]

Please forgive this belated memorial. We regret that it took us so long to learn about Frank's death. We lost contact with Frank and Verna after they moved to an apartment in early 2004.

Meet the WAGS Workers
by Patti Wenham

From Page 7-8, Appleland Bulletin Vol 31:4 © Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society
(Submitted by Joanne M. Calhoun, marjocal@gte.net, Treasurer, Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society (WAGS), Wenatchee, WA, http://www.wags-web.org.)

Starting in this issue and continuing, there will be two or three Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society (WAGS) members that will be spotlighted. In this way we all can meet these people. In this issue we will meet Florence Chadbourne and Frank Neher.

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Frank Neher

Frank Neher has served our Society in many ways and has always been a willing worker whenever there is a task to be done. His latest project was making arrangements for the Nason Creek Project. He and Verna have worked hard to ensure the success of the project. They have kept records about the necessary equipment and the amount of cookies, coffee, tea, creamer, cups etc. to ensure that there will be enough of everything for the project.

Frank has managed communications between members for meetings and other projects. He maintains an address book which lists all the members who have email addresses so they can be contacted rapidly.

Verna is his willing helper whenever there is a project that requires her help. "I met Verna, under rather strange circumstances, when I was asked by a friend to accompany him to lunch at Verna's home. I was a substitute for another friend who Verna had decided she did not like. When Verna saw us coming up the street she put her plate back on the table and it was love at first sight. This was in early March of 1942 in Hilo, Hawaii. I was in the US Army Finance Department stationed in Hilo. We actually only saw each other for 17 days when I was transferred to the office in Lehua, Kaui, Territory of Hawaii. We exchanged 110 letters and were married August 16, 1942 - 61 years ago," said Frank when asked how he and Verna got together.

Frank started his family search in 1989 when he received a nice hard-bound volume The Neher Family History. He thought that if his Neher cousins could do this, so could he for the Bourne ancestors of his mother. He has not kept track of the family group sheets but there were very many. At first he used an old Remington typewriter and later graduated to the computer. His current files contain over 39,000 individuals, most of whom are connected.

The books he has done, on the various surnames of his ancestors, are also quite numerous and he has not kept an accurate count. The major surnames recorded are BOURNE, TOMLINSON, SWEARINGEN, HITE, RUDDELL, RIGGS, MULHERIN, GRIFFITH, DAY, AMOS, BOWMAN, CALLAWAY, and HIGBY. Verna's are HUTCHINGS and OSORIO. He has sent books to the LDS Church at Salt Lake City, Utah; Wheeling, West Virginia; Frankfort, Kentucky; Spokane and Colfax, Washington in addition to those volumes that he has given to the WAGS Library.

He joined the Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society in 1989.

Frank says that he has had two real break throughs in his research. The first was when he was referred to Rose Callaway, wife of his 3rd cousin, Kenneth Callaway. She had done over 25 years of research on the Callaway and Bourne families and she shared all of her material with Frank. The second was when he was referred to his cousin, Loraine Harting, of Dayton, Washington who had just completed her research on the Griffith and Allied Families which included the families of Mulherin, Bowman, Ruddell, Hite, Amos and Day. She gave him copies of her work.

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Frank served 2 and 1/2 years as President of the society.

When asked what postions he held in WAGS, Frank said, "I served as bulleting coordinator before becoming president. Also ways and means with the Nason Creek project foremost. I was also a volunteer librarian for some time." He then added, "My association with the society has been a very pleasant and rewarding experience for me and I feel very fortunate to have been able to participate."

Obituary

From "The Wenatchee World", http://www.wenworld.com, May 20, 2004, Page B10, Wenatchee, WA
(Submitted by Joanne M. Calhoun, marjocal@gte.net, Treasurer, Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society (WAGS), Wenatchee, WA, http://www.wags-web.org)

Frank D. Neher

Frank D. Neher, 87, of Wenatchee, WA, died Thursday, May 27, 2004. He had lived in Wenatchee for more than 70 years and was a fruit broker for Nuchief Sales for more than 30 years.

He is survived by his wife, Verna; sons, Jeffrey Neher of East Wenatchee, Mark Neher of Wenatchee, James Neher of Conway, Wash., daughters, Marie VanDyke of Malden, Wash. and Carol Terrana of Kent; and a twin brother, Milton Neher of Seattle.

A celebration of his life will be held at 1 p.m. June 5 at Colonial Vista in Wenatchee.

Telford's Chapel of the Valley is in charge of Arrangements.

In Memorium

From "The Wenatchee World", http://www.wenworld.com, May 30, 2004, Page B8, Wenatchee, WA
(Submitted by Joanne M. Calhoun, marjocal@gte.net, Treasurer, Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society (WAGS), Wenatchee, WA, http://www.wags-web.org)

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Frank D. Neher
Wenatchee, WA

Frank D. Neher, 87, a Wenatchee resident for over 70 years, passed away Thursday May 27th at Vista Rehab in Wenatchee.

He was born on April 27, 1917 in Wenatchee to Daniel Hollar and Mildred F. (Bourn) Neher. He was raised and educated in the Wenatchee Valley area and graduated from Pashastin High School in 1935. He continued his education at Wenatchee Business College and Seattle Secretarial School prior to entering the Army where he was receiving Accounting, Bookkeeping and Finance training. He was stationed in Hawaii and was a Pearl Harbor Survivor. He married Verna Claire Hutchings at Hilo, Hawaii on August 16, 1942. Frank received a number of Decorations, Citations and Campaign Ribbons
before receiving his honorable discharge in October of 1945. They returned to Wenatchee where he worked at Nuchief Sales as a Fruit Broker, until retiring in 1978. They moved to Okanogan where they made their home and Frank later returned to work for Golddigger, returning to Wenatchee in 1987.

Frank was an avid bowler. He served as President of the Wenatchee Bowling Association and was one of the first members of the Wenatchee Bowlers Hall of Fame. Frank was a longtime member and past Exalted Ruler of the Wenatchee Elks Lodge #1186. He was a member of the Jaycees, Wenatchee Applerians and chaired multiple Apple Blossom Events. Frank was a R.S.V.P volunteer, and while in Okanogan was instrumental in the building of the current senior center and also served on the board as well as the board for the Council on Aging. He was an avid fly fisherman, gardener and enjoyed his hobbies of
fine woodworking and genealogy.

Frank is survived by his wife of 61 years, Verna, Wenatche; five children and their spouses, Marie and Gary Vandyke, Malden, WA, James and Helen Neher, Conway, WA, Carol and Arthur Terrana, Kent, WA, Jeffery and Beverly Neher, East
Wenatchee and Mark and Victoria Neher, Wenatchee; his twin brother Milton H. and his wife Marie Neher, Seattle; 17 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents.

Friends and family will gather in celebration of Frank's life, June 5th 1 p.m. - 3 p.m. at Colonial Vista, 623 Okanogan, Wenatchee. The family requests no flowers. Friends who wish, may make memorial donation in his name to the Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society or the charity of the donor's choice.

Arrangements are by Talford's Chapel of the Valley, East Wenatchee.

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Remembering
by Mrs. Carroll A. Munson

Page 16, Appleland Bulletin Vol 32:3 © Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society
(Submitted by Joanne M. Calhoun, marjocal@gte.net, Treasurer, Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society (WAGS), Wenatchee, WA, http://www.wags-web.org.)

Remembering "Lucky" Frank Neher

Frank Neher, 87, esteemed member of the Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society since 1989, died May 27, 2004, at Vista Rehab in Wenatchee.

Frank was a real asset to the society. He served at one time as bulleting coordinator, another time as President, as a librarian, and most often as chairman of ways and means.

He was known as "Lucky Frank" among the membership because at nearly every meeting, he reported exciting discoveries
in his genealogical searching.

One member expressed how she would like to have had Frank for a brother and spoke with admiration of his family, past and present. "They were nice, helpful people," she said. She added that Frank could always relate trivia, making conversations fun.

Another member would have liked to be Frank's relative, however distant. She related how in Frank's early research, he claimed he found a mutual connection in a line they were both researching. A month later, he discovered he was on the wrong track. "How dare you not be my cousin!" She exclaimed.

"He gave 110%, " another member declared, telling how he could be counted on to help with all aspects of the society from fund raising to stapling the bulletins.

Frank was on of our first computer enthusiasts and kept communication moving between members by email.

"He was a tenacious researcher," a librarian said. "When he got interested in something, he wouldn't let it go."

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"He was ambitious and all ready to help whenever needed," another declared.

The first co-chairpersons of the Nason Creek refreshment dispensement in 1991 benefited from Frank and Verna's previous experience with other clubs who had worked on the project. They helped load, transport, set up, and maintain the project for three days, then helped vigorously in the clean-up operations.

Frank is survived by his wife Verna, five children and other relatives.

A story about Frank and Verna appeared in the December 2003 Appleland Bulletin. The Wenatchee World published an obituary in the May 20, 2004 issue, page B10 and an In Memorium story in its May 30, 2004 issue, page B8.

Family and friends gathered in celebration of Frank's life June 5 at Colonial Vista Village.

 
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