Obituary of William-James Neff

NEFF Neff, William James, an aviation pioneer who was an innovator in developing modern aircraft maintenance and engineering systems and procedures, died at home in his sleep on Friday, September 20, 2002. He was 83 years old, and lived in Delray Beach, FL with his wife of 60 years, Maxine King Neff. Mr. Neff was born in Madison, WI and attended Purdue University where he graduated with a Civil Engineering degree in 1941. While at Purdue, Mr. Neff played football, making the All-American Honorable Mention team. In addition, he was awarded the Big Ten Medal of Honor for Athletics and Scholarship. Immediately upon graduation in 1941, Mr. Neff enlisted in the US Army Air Corps as a cadet. In 1942 he was among the first Americans to serve in World War II overseas when he was assigned to the 8th Air Force as a B-17 Engineering Officer. For the next three years he remained overseas serving in England, Russia and France until VE day when he returned to US after attaining the rank of Major. During this time Mr. Neff became an expert on B-17 aircraft maintenance and developed new ways to maximize fleet utilization and effectiveness in support of the war effort. Building on his experience in military aviation, Mr. Neff was recruited in 1945 as an engineer by Trans World Airlines, which was one of the leaders in the then fledging airline industry. For the next 37 years until his retirement with TWA, Mr. Neff spearheaded the introduction and maintenance a new generations of aircraft and developed innovative programs to integrate these aircraft into TWA's system. During the piston era, this included the then new Lockheed Constellation and Super Constellation, Douglas DC 3 and 4, Martin 202A and 404, and during the jet age, the Convair 880, Boeing 707, 727 and 747 and Douglas DC 9. At TWA, Mr. Neff held the positions of Vice President of Technical Services, Vice President of Maintenance and Overhaul, Vice President of Purchasing, and Vice President of Sales and Service. During his tenure at TWA he served in the New York headquarters, the Kansas City technical headquarters, and the Los Angeles regional offices. In addition to his wife, Maxine, he is survived by his daughter Nancy Blaker of Houston, TX; his son, James Neff of Westport, CT; five grandchildren and two great granddaughters. He was a Senior Warden in the Episcopal Church, a Paul Harris Fellow of the Rotary Club and active in the Boy Scouts of America. Funeral services took place at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Delray Beach, FL on September 23, 2002 and a Memorial Service will be held at Church of the Good Shepard in Kansis City, MO at 4:00 PM on Friday, October 4, 2002.