Rose Marie Neff

On Friday, October 3rd, 2025, Rose M. Neff née Wride, passed away at the age of 86.

Rose was born in Colchester Heights Township, Ontario, Canada in 1939 and grew up in Harrow, Ontario, Canada to Elizabeth Marguerite Wride née Kersey and Leonard Keith Wride. She married the love of her life, Peter John Neff in 1967. Together, they raised three children, Glen, Susan, and Scot.

Rose graduated from Harrow District High School in 1957. She worked as a Legal Secretary in Windsor, Ontario for several years. After marrying Pete, they lived in many postings during his army career, including West Germany, Virginia, and Iran. His final posting brought them to Tacoma, Washington.

Rose worked for Tacoma Public Schools for 20 years, in the Central Administration Building in downtown Tacoma and retired in 2004. She was a devoted churchgoer at St. Luke’s Memorial Episcopal Church, where she was a member for nearly 50 years, as well as a dedicated member of The Order of the Daughters of the King, an Episcopal service organization. She enjoyed hiking and being outdoors. One of her favorite activities was watching the ocean waves crash on the rocks at Kalaloch on the Washington coast. She loved spending time with her friends from church, work, as well as many life-long friends from her childhood and travels. Her grandchildren were her greatest joy. She was well known for her sense of humor, her smile, and her love of God.

Rose was preceded in death by her parents, her brothers Robert (Mary), Carl, Glen, and Thomas Wride, her sister Jean (Don) McCarron, and brother-in-law Doug Wilkie. She is survived by her sister Cara Wilkie (née Wride), and sister-in-law, Eleanor Wride, her children, Glen (Kathleen), Scot (Starla), and Susan (Robert), and her grandchildren, Anastasia, Jeroen, Simon, Andrew, Arrow, Natalie, and Leo, and numerous nieces and nephews.

A service will be held on Saturday, October 11, at 1 PM at St. Luke’s Memorial Episcopal Church in Tacoma. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Alzheimer’s Association at www.alz.org, The American Cancer Society at www.cancer.org, Disabled American Veterans at help.dav.org, or local food bank of your choice.