Curtis Neely

Curtis Neely, 85, of Mason City, died Wednesday, December 26, 2007 at the Good Shepherd Health Center. Funeral services will be held 10:30 AM Saturday, December 29, 2007, at Major Erickson Funeral Home, 111 N. Pennsylvania Avenue with Pastor Kent A. Mechler, Chaplain - Good Shepherd Health Center, officiating. Interment will be in Memorial Park Cemetery. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service on Saturday. Memorials may be given to the Curtis Neely Memorial Fund. Curtis was born August 8, 1922 in Pleasant View, MO, the son of Zelma and Lawrence Neely. As a boy, Curtis grew up on a farm in Pleasant View, MO. At the age of 13, he worked in a coal mine with his older brother AC to make extra money for the family. After a cave in at the mine, his father forbid Curtis and his brother to return. Curtis then turned to hunting rabbits and squirrels and selling the pelts to a local hardware store in Jerico Springs, MO. Some years later, Curtis trucked fence posts from Stockton, MO to Manly, IA. During one of his delivery runs to Manly, he met Herbert Backhaus and was offered a job on his farm as a hired hand. He met Ivyl at a Saturday evening dance held in Manly. They were married on June 13, 1945, after Curtis finished boot camp, before he was shipped out in the Navy for WWII. Curtis served in the Navy in 1945 and 1946 at the Wang Poo River in China. He was a carpenter for the majority of his life. He spent 53 years working for the Johnston Construction Co. building many houses in Mason City and the surrounding area. He spent many years doing odd construction jobs around the Mason City area after he left the construction company. He had also worked for Hutchinson?s Ice Cream and Stoddards Manufacturing. He enjoyed working, listening to country music, and watching old westerns on TV. Curtis is survived by his wife of 62 years: Ivyl Neely, children: Patricia Kae Field and husband Herman of Pequot Lakes, MN, David Curtis Neely and wife Lynne Marie Boyd of Council Bluffs, IA, and Diane Kae Schmith of Mason City, IA; 7 grandchildren, and 4 great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers: AC and LZ.

Visitation:
9:30 AM to 10:30 AM at 111 N. Pennsylvania Ave. on December 29, 2007 (map/driving directions) 5:00 PM to 5:00 PM at 111 N. Pennsylvania Ave. on December 27, 2008 (map/driving directions)

Service:
10:30 AM at 111 N. Pennsylvania Ave. on December 29, 2007 (map/driving directions)