JOHN NEFF

John Patrick Neff John P. Neff, age 59, passed away at his home in Olympia on Saturday, September 17, 2011 after six months of battling brain cancer. John was the City of Lacey Building Official for 23 years, retiring in May, 2010. Prior to working for Lacey, John served as the building official for Douglas County and as a building inspector for Chelan County. Before beginning his 32 years in government service, John was a carpenter in the Wenatchee area. In addition to his work, John was a leader and mentor to many in the building code world and freely shared his knowledge, time, energy and wit with all. John was a former board member of the WA Association of Building Officials, former chair and member of the WA State Building Code Council, and was a member of the World Organization of Building Officials. John was born to John M. and Elizabeth (Wooton) Neff in Wenatchee in May 1952, and graduated from Cashmere High School in 1970. Gifted with a beautiful bass singing voice, John majored in music at WSU, where he met Joanie (Morasch). They were married in Colfax in 1974 and lived in Cashmere until moving to Olympia in 1987. John is survived by his wife Joanie, daughter Alexa (Cesar) Juarez, grandson Neilan, brothers Stephen (Jenny) and Scott (Ellen), sister Shannon (Steve) Town, and sister-in-law Donna (Morasch) Manning. A celebration of John's life will be held at 2:00 p.m. on September 24, 2011, at South Sound Manor, 455 North St. SE, Tumwater, WA 98501. In his memory, donations may be made to Thurston County Food Bank. Please leave remembrances at www.FuneralAlternatives.org Arrangements are with Funeral Alternatives of Washington 360-753-1065.