Helen A. Picking Neff

On Sunday, July 12, 2015, this earthly stage went dark for Helen Alice Picking Neff (age 99), though her spirit remains in light.  She was born in Bucyrus, Ohio on October 17, 1915 to Ella Maude Colter Picking and Robert Baltzly Picking.  She was the granddaughter of Lillie Baltzly Picking and Charles F. Picking, a former mayor of the City of Bucyrus, and the great-granddaughter of Mary Myers Picking and Daniel Picking, the founder of D. Picking & Company, which continued to operate until Helen’s passing.   Helen was also the great-great-granddaughter of Rebecca Deardorf Picking and Samuel Picking, early citizens of Bucyrus.



Helen graduated from Bucyrus High School in 1933, attended Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri from 1935-1937, and was awarded a Bachelor of Science in Speech (1935) and a Master of Arts in Theatre (1939) from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.  Thereafter, Helen began her career teaching at Portsmouth High School (Ohio) from 1939-1941, and continued teaching under the direction of stage lighting pioneer Prof. Theodore Fuchs at Northwestern University from 1941-1943, where her students included Charlton Heston.  Thereafter, she served the American Red Cross, first as a field representative from 1943-1946, and later as Director of College Activities in the Eastern Region from 1946-1949.  Following her Red Cross service, Helen taught and served as head of the Speech and Theatre Department at Gulf Park College in Gulfport, Mississippi from 1949-1969, where she forged a lifelong friendship with fellow faculty member F. Nels Anderson, Professor Emeritus, Theatre Department, Louisiana State University.  Following her teaching career, Helen returned home to Ohio, first to Mansfield where she served as managing director of The Mansfield Playhouse from 1969-1973.  Upon her father’s death in 1983, she became owner and head of D. Picking & Company, the fourth generation of her family to do so since the company’s founding in 1874.



In 1975, Helen married Robert Clark Neff, who predeceased her in 2007.  With that marriage, she “got her family the easy way” as she was fond of saying, and she is survived by her stepdaughter, Cynthia Lee Neff (Steven) Schifer, stepson, Robert Clark (Mary Jo Allan) Neff, Jr., and stepgrandson, Alexander Clark Neff.



Helen’s abiding passion in life is summed up in the line from the play, Children Of A Lesser God: “The ability to communicate is everything.”  Pursuit of this passion included fostering interaction with and between all she met and included service on the board of directors of the Bucyrus YMCA, the Bucyrus Little Theatre where she directed nearly three dozen plays, Oakwood Cemetery Association, and the Second National Bank and Society Bank (Bucyrus).  Helen was an active and life-long member of The First Presbyterian Church, where she served as both a deacon and an elder.  She also served on the planning committee responsible for the development of Bucyrus Area Community Foundation (now known as the Community Foundation for Crawford County), the Bucyrus City Schools Strategic Planning Committee, the Committee for School/Industry Participation Planning, Twig #1 of the Hospital Auxiliary, and was a member of the Crocus and New Era Clubs and the Friends of the Library.



A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, July 18 at The First Presbyterian Church with Rev. John Cory officiating. Her family will gather with friends one hour prior to the service from 1-2 p.m. and a private burial will take place in Oakwood Cemetery.



The family suggests that in lieu of flowers, those who wish to make memorial contributions do so to any of the local charities with whom Helen was associated, or to HomeCare Matters, or to any charity of their choice and these gifts may be given through the Wise Funeral Service, 129 W. Warren St., Bucyrus, Ohio 44820. Memories are encouraged in the Memorial Guestbook below.



Visitation:

Saturday, July 18, 2015 1-2 p.m.

First Presbyterian Church, 125 Poplar Street, Bucyrus, Ohio 44820



Service:

Saturday, July 18, 2015 2:00 p.m.

First Presbyterian Church, 125 Poplar Street, Bucyrus, Ohio 44820



Cemetery:

Oakwood Cemetery, 835 Kaler Ave., Bucyrus, Ohio 44820 (Private Burial)