Tribute

Elizabeth Lillian Neve (nee Hunt)
‘Libby’
Libby died peacefully on the morning of Monday, May 16, 2011 at Kimberley Special Care Home (The Pines) in Kimberley, British Columbia. Her son James was by her side.
Her husband Dr. C Richard Neve predeceased Libby in 1995. She leaves three children, Michèle Spak (Harvey), Veronica James (Allan) and James Neve (Jean), six grandchildren, Andrew, Jesse, Sarah, Kate, Honor and Tristan and five great grandchildren, Benjamin, David, Emilie, Cedar and Rory. She is survived by sisters-in-law Margaret (Pom) Pendrill and Jane (Jenny) Hamilton of England.
Libby was born at Bathampton, Somerset, England on February 9, 1924 to Captain William Enoch Hunt and his wife Ellen Elizabeth Farrington. Her parents, brothers George and Enoch, and sisters Honor, Mamie and Jocelyn predeceased her.
The Second World War began while Libby was still at high school. She joined the Women’s Royal Air Force in 1941 at the age of 17. She served on air bases throughout southern England with both Fighter and Bomber Command, in a variety of capacities and drove ambulance, fuel and ammunition trucks while serving her country in the Transportation Core. She met Richard, who was a medical officer in the R.A.F. as he tended a burn to her neck from a hair permanent that went wrong. They married on December 6, 1946 at Winscombe, Somerset, England.
In 1955, Libby and children, Michèle, Veronica and James emigrated to Canada, joining Richard in Kimberley, British Columbia where he had begun a surgical practice with the J. F. Hazard Clinic. The family became Canadian citizens in 1961.
Libby led an active life that included skiing in the winter and riding horses in the summer. She was a member of All Saints Anglican Church Altar Guild and served on the Kimberley and District School Board. She was a founding member of The Pines Society and a member of the Kimberley and District Health Council. In 1967, she and Richard bought land at Wycliffe and built their dream home and hobby farm where they could keep their horses. Libby continued to reside on the farm until summer 2010.
Libby was a life-long learner. She attended the University of Calgary and workshops to pursue her love of creative writing. She attended community college in Nelson, British Columbia to become a Licensed Practical Nurse. An active member of the Medical Office Assistants Association in the East Kootenay, she ran her husband’s busy urology practice in Cranbrook, British Columbia until they retired in 1992.
After her husband’s death in 1995, Libby returned to school. She completed the Performing Arts Technician program at the College of the Rockies in Cranbrook. She took great pleasure in performing on stage in productions like ‘Oklahoma,’ ‘Fiddler on the Roof,’ and ‘Lettice and Lovage.’ She acted as an extra in films in Edmonton and at Fort Steele. She joined the Kimberley branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, participated in the annual Remembrance Day ceremonies, and often dropped in for a beer with the other vets at the Legion.
She wrote three romance novels that would steam the eyeglasses on a conservative.
Perhaps Libby’s greatest achievement in later life was her talk show on local cable television where she had the opportunity to interview notable Canadians and locals about their lives and careers. She also made many good friends working as a volunteer at the Kootenay Community Cable Television station in Kimberley and journeyed doing field reporting on interesting local stories throughout the East Kootenays.
Cremation has already taken place. At Libby’s request, there will be no funeral service. Private interment will take place later.
The family would like to thank Dr. David Clay and especially the staff at the Pines in Kimberley for their kindness and the great care they provided to Libby during the past ten months.
In lieu of flowers those wishing to remember Libby can make a donation to ‘The Libby Neve Performing Arts Fund”, in care of The College of the Rockies. This is a bursary in support of students who intend to pursue a career in the Performing Arts, Libby’s true vocation!
Those who wish to leave condolences to the family can do so www.markmemorial.ca.
What Libby would say to all of you from the heart can be found in an anonymous poem passed down through the generations in her family:
Learn to make the most of life,
And lose no happy day,
Time will never bring again, chances thrown away,
Leave no tender word unsaid,
And love while love will last,
For the mill will never grind, with the waters that have past.