Ethel Lorraine Neaves

Ethel Lorraine Neaves, 86, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt and friend went home to be with the Lord on May 10, 2017.  Services in celebration of her life will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 17th at Bethany Baptist Church, 700 35th Avenue Place, Moline with burial at the National Cemetery at the Rock Island Arsenal.  Visitation will be 4-7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 16th at Esterdahl Mortuary & Crematory, Ltd., 6601 38th Avenue, Moline.  Memorials may be made to Disabled American Veterans.

Lorraine was born on January 26, 1931 to Lester and Florence Sova in Shoshone, Idaho.  After Florence’s untimely death when Lorraine was a year old, Lester was left with five small children to care for.  As a result, Lorraine went to live with Walter and Della Kyle on their farm in Jerome, Idaho.  The couple later adopted her.  She remained close to both her birth family and her adopted family and enjoyed spending time with her many brothers and sisters.

In 1949 Lorraine graduated from Jerome High School where she met the love of her life, Edgar Neaves.  Lorraine was a beautiful girl, and at first Ed was too shy to talk to her.  He had a friend ask her for a date while he waited around the corner.  However, Lorraine pertly replied, “If Ed wants to date me he will have to ask me himself.”  He did.  She said yes and the rest is history.  It didn’t hurt that he drove a snazzy Model A, even though Lorraine’s parents wouldn’t allow him to pick her up in it.  Instead, they required him to meet them in town where he was allowed to accompany Lorraine to a movie while they waited close by.  Needless to say, Lorraine and Ed fell in love and were married on February 17, 1951.  They enjoyed 66 wonderful years together.  Over the years they lived in Texas, California, Alaska, Idaho, Wyoming and Washington, finally settling in Coal Valley, Illinois to raise their family.  Recently they moved to St. Petersburg, Florida.

Lorraine was a wonderful homemaker and the best wife and mother in the world.  She also worked for a number of years at Royal Neighbors of America, retiring in 1993.  After retirement Lorraine and Ed bought a fifth wheel trailer and spent many happy years traveling extensively across the country visiting family and friends.  They also took a trip to Europe.  During the winter months they enjoyed spending time in Florida where they formed their own band.  In addition to being an accomplished piano and keyboard player Lorraine loved knitting, reading and writing poetry, which she was quite good at.  She loved teddy bears and bluebirds.  She loved history and spent many rewarding years researching family genealogy with her sister-in-law Beverly.

Lorraine was a devout Christian and was a very caring, loving and compassionate person.  She touched the lives of everyone she met and she will be greatly missed by her family and many friends.  The most important things in her life were faith, family and chocolate (her one weakness).

Lorraine is survived by her sweetheart Ed Neaves, their four children: Debbie (Kevin) Hoehn, Eddie (JoLynn) Neaves, Tim (Michelle) Neaves, Jeff (Patrice) Neaves; five grandchildren: Justin (Jennifer) Hoehn, Alyssa (Scott) Berg, Austin Neaves, Tommy Neaves and Rebecca Neaves and five great-grandchildren: Nathan Berg, Dylan Berg, Madeline Hoehn, Vivienne Hoehn, and Tristen Barisciano.  Lorraine is also survived by her brother Bob Sova and many beloved cousins, nieces and nephews.

Memories may be shared by visiting esterdahl.com.