Funeral services for Mary Frances Smith Neff, 98, of Greenville, will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 26, 2025, at Boone Funeral Home in Greenville. A visitation will be held from 2:00 p.m. until the service time. A private burial will be held at the Hollandale Cemetery. She passed away on Wednesday, October 22, 2025.
Mrs. Neff was born on February 10, 1927, in Courtland, MS to Hubert Pickett Smith and Susie Clarkson Smith. She graduated from Courtland High School and the University of Mississippi with a degree in business. She served as Miss Batesville in 1948 and as the first Lady of the Lake in 1949.
In 1950, Mrs. Neff moved to Arcola to teach. She soon met M.P. Neff, they married in 1951 and had two children, Kay and Park. The family moved to Hollandale in 1966, where Mrs. Neff continued teaching in the Hollandale Consolidated Schools. After fifty years in Hollandale, the couple moved to Greenville.
Mrs. Neff was a member of the Delta Garden Club, Hollandale Women’s Club, Hollandale Methodist Church, and attended the Community Bible Study. She was an avid reader and enjoyed sewing and playing bridge with her beloved group.
She is preceded in death by her husband, her mother and father, and sisters Margaret Ann Darnell and Eunice Louise Speed.
Mrs. Neff is survived by her daughter, Kay Newsom (Sam) of Greenville, and her son, Park Neff (Sharon) of Arcola; 4 grandchildren to whom she was fondly known as Mia, Drew Newsom of Greenville, Mary Neff Stewart (John) of Greenwood, Courtney Williams (TJ) of Madison, and Jennifer McWilliams (Lance) of Grenada. She also leaves 10 great-grandchildren, Sam, Mia, and John Edward Newsom, John Day Stewart, Lawson, Cannon and Hadley Williams, Linton and Logan Carson, and Matthew McWilliams. She is also survived by her brother, Charles Smith (Linda) of Marks, and several nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to the charity of the donor’s choice.