Charles Clayton Neff

Charles Clayton Neff, 90, died Sunday, April 13, 2025, just before his 91st birthday. He was born April 26, 1934 to William Homer Neff and Katie Hendricks Neff of Speed, Indiana, joining his older sister Shirley Ann and a tight-knit, boisterous extended family which gathered every Sunday for his mother's elaborate family meals. Clayton quickly found his place at the table, and for the rest of his life was excellent company in any situation for his courteous, deferential gregariousness. He was an honor roll student and Homecoming King at Silver Creek High School, playing baseball and basketball, before attending Indiana University, where he joined the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, graduating in 1956.
Clayton met the world with a smile and a wink which served him well in his work and relationships – and which masked his impressive and unusual achievements. While cleaning vats for Louisville Cement, he saved the life of a friend who fell. Later, for a moment, he was a part-owner of a cheese shop on 3rd Street. He was a gardener, a music-lover, and a traveler, flying countless thousands of miles over his thirty-year career for Brown & Williamson and trolling, inch by inch, across sand bars to reach his favorite fishing holes. Though he was easy-going, he was also a leader: He served as the President of the Juniper Club, as President and Vice-President of the Purchasing Management Association of Louisville, on the boards of the Kentuckiana Minority Supplier Development Council and of his longtime neighborhoods in Northfield and Pelican Bay. Yet most impressive of all, in 1958, he convinced Margaret Ann Parker to be his wife. Together they made a beautiful, resilient, and lively couple, sharing two sons – Stuart and Scott – and a close confidence until her death in 2018.
He is survived by his son, William Scott Neff (Michelle); his grandson, William Parker Neff; his granddaughters, Greyson Neff Banta (Thomas) and Adair Stewart Neff (Andrew); and his step-granddaughter, Kristin Ann Wells. He is also survived by his sister-in-law, Mary Parker Crain (James); his nieces, Amy Crain Scholtz (Ray) and Karen Todd Estus (Tony); his nephew, James Thomas Crain (Karen); his stepmother-in-law, Elaine Parker Akin; and many others including his dear friends, his extended family in Indiana, the members and staff of the Juniper Club, his caretakers at the Episcopal Church Home, his kind barber Alex, all the dogs he fed under the table, and – with any luck – his Boston Red Sox and Indiana Hoosiers. He was preceded in death by his parents, his sister, his wife, and his son, Stuart.
A visitation will be held on Monday, April 28th from 4-7 at Pearson's 149 Breckenridge Lane, with a private burial the following day. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Stuart P. Neff '81 Memorial Scholarship, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA 24450-2116 or to a charity of your choice.
Arrangements under the direction of Pearson's, "Where Louisville Goes to Remember". To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Charles, please visit our floral store.