Marilyn Bingham Neff

Marilyn Bingham Neff passed away peacefully in her home Nov 12, 2018. She was born in Logan, Utah on Oct 6, 1930 to Lorna England and Heber Erastus Bingham. She was the 3rd of 4 children. Her father was a rancher and restaurant owner. Marilyn grew up helping raise huge garden and small animals for their family and restaurants. She learned to be a hard worker and especially enjoyed working with her father.

Marilyn’s parents both sang and loved music. She and her siblings followed in their parents’ footsteps. She learned to play the piano from her grandmother, Ada England and sang in a trio through high school and her early years of marriage. She was smart and excelled in school getting a 4.0. During high school she helped run an ice cream parlor in the Low Cost Drug Store with her boyfriend and future husband.

Marilyn married her high school sweetheart, James William Neff (Billy) on June 15, 1949. They met working in her father’s restaurant, The Mount Logan Cafe. After graduating high school, Marilyn studied secretarial skills and got a 2 year degree. She worked as a secretary at a law firm and supported her husband through his Bachelor’s degree. She was very frugal with the family resources. She was an amazing seamstress and made all of her own clothing during those years.

Marilyn’s husband, Bill joined the United States Army as a finance officer and they lived all over the world for 21 years, moving 18 times. Marilyn served in many callings in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, often having 3 at a time in small wards and branches. She sang in many church services and choirs. Playing the piano for the primary children was probably her favorite calling.

Marilyn gave birth to 5 children, one of them being a stillborn baby boy. Her greatest priority were her children. She loved being a mother and homemaker. She kept an immaculate house and was a great cook. She also took great care of her mother, Lorna and sister, Bonna who were ill for many years before they died. Marilyn was a great example to others.

During Marilyn’s life, she continued to develop her many talents. She took piano, organ and voice lessons even buying an organ for her home. While in Germany, she started taking oil painting classes painting over 30 paintings in 18 short months. She was a natural and passed on her love of art and music to her descendants.

Our mother, Marilyn had a great sense of humor which she inherited from her father. She was always up for a good joke, whether it was appropriate or not. She also loved repeating the funny things her grandchildren said when they were little. She had many favorite Spoonerisms which have been fondly passed on to her posterity. For example; turtle nooky soup, need to shake a tower, need a shipe knarf, it’s going to be a tit fight, at a restaurant Dad once ordered post rot & Wendy ordered striping chicks & ryan said pood farticles. She loved the story of Cinderella and the 2 sisty uglers. She loved musical theater, the opera, old movies and comedies.

During their retirement years, Marilyn along with her husband were very generous with people in need. She would hear of others’ needs and serve them financially. She was soft hearted when it came to her family and friends.

Marilyn was greatly loved by all who knew her well and will be deeply missed. She is survived by her husband, James (Bill), sister, Sandra Bingham Martin, children, Wendy Buhr (Thomas), David Neff, Terry Allen (Dan), and Jamison Neff, 25 grandchildren and 36 great grandchildren.