Neva May (Maski) Ashford

Neva May (Maski) Ashford (age 97) passed away at home with family on November 20, 2025.
Her parents, Waive (Brooks) and Arthur Monroe "Dutch" Maski, moved from Camano Island to work for Standard Oil in Oakland, California. Their daughter Neva was born there on July 15, 1928. When the Depression arrived in 1929, Dutch's job was reduced to part time so they returned to Camano.
Neva's maternal grandparents, Ethel and Jay Brooks, were among the first white settlers at Mabana on the southwest coast. They had built a house with large gardens by the time Dutch, Waive, and Neva came back to Camano. Dutch took on several jobs, including bringing electrical power to the island and working on logging crews with the task of going down inside hollow cedar stumps. Neva's early childhood was spent close to her grandparents in a log home built by her father.
Later she boarded with family friends in Stanwood in order to attend school. Neva appreciated having other children to play with in elementary. She played the violin and participated in the annual parade where she got to wear a crepe paper dress and curled hair. There was no high school nearby, so the family moved to Seattle to continue her schooling. She graduated from Franklin High School in 1946 and then continued her studies at the University of Washington where she studied Home Economics.
While attending the UW Neva met Homer Bennet "Ben" Ashford at an ice skating party. Ben was a recently returned soldier who was studying civil engineering. They married on September 11, 1948. Ben and Neva were an active couple, enjoying swimming, bowling, skiing at Stevens Pass and Mt Spokane, and square dance, even participating in dance conventions throughout the state.
They had six children over the course of their marriage and built several homes across Washington. The family took annual vacations and road trips, such as Disneyland, National Parks, the Washington coast for clam digging, Vancouver Island and Saskatchewan to visit family, Sun Valley in Idaho, rockhounding trips in the motorhome. Camping with cousins on Camano Island was a favorite destination.
Neva delighted in family life and celebrations, creating themes and games for every birthday party. She made costumes and decorations each Halloween, and for Christmas would hire a neighborhood "Santa" and fill stockings until the wee hours. She did not neglect her own artistic interests, creating stained glass art, tole painting, welding, metal casting, sewing and knitting, cake decorating, decoupage, furniture upholstery, and others.
Neva is preceded in death by her husband Ben, parents Waive and Dutch, Grandchildren Dov and Nichole, and son-in-law Phil Campbell. She is survived by the six children she and Ben had in their years of marriage: Don, Darcy, Denise, Doug, Darla and Deanne, plus 12 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. She is loved, missed, and remembered for her love, thoughtfulness, and creativity which she shared with us all.
A time, date and place will be announced at a later date for us to come together to celebrate Neva's life.