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Maxine was a homemaker and farmer, a
person of integrity, and hard working. She loved to
farm and continued to farm until she fell and
suffered a broken hip. At the age of 84 she was
still driving the tractor and hunting deer. She was
a crack shot, developing her skills early in life by
shooting rats at her father’s grain elevator. She
and her father would go to the Gem grain elevator at
night and shoot rats as they ran into the lighted
area of the car’s headlights.
Although a
private person, she cared deeply about family,
including her cats and dogs. Upon the death of her
sister Twila, she cared for Twila’s invalid son
until his death, just seven months before her own
death.
Her concern for
dogs and cats was life long. Early in life she
dressed up the little kittens and dogs, and imagined
they were her babies. When she moved to Colby in
1977, she had six or seven dogs, some were inside
pets, and four were outside in the back yard
surrounded by a six-foot fence. Four cats kept her
company in her later years. They are the center of
a story that begins at the family washhouse in Gem,
where approximately 70 cats were being fed. Four
kittens, eyes still closed, were found in the
woodpile by the washhouse by children ages of 4 to
7. After touching and playing with the kittens they
told Maxine. Feeling that the mother cat would
abandon the kittens, Maxine took them in, fed them
with an eyedropper, and cared for them throughout
their long lives. The last cat died in 2005 at the
age of 18 or 19.
Maxine Neville’s
concern for the well being of her community, and
pets did not cease with her death, but will continue
into the future via the generous gifts to HSHP and
to Colby’s Pioneer Memorial Library and Colby
Community College Endowment.
Often after
reading about such gifts as Maxine Neville’s, we
wonder if the Humane Society actually needs our
support. The answer is yes. A Society or
Community doesn’t function without the active
involvement of its members. We need opportunities
to come together for the greater good. With that in
mind, don’t forget to mark January 31st
on your calendars. Come out and have a bowl of
soup, vote for your favorite soup maker, and share
in the fellowship associated with the Humane Society
of the High Plains. Such fellowship helps to make a
strong Society, and in so doing helps us reach our
goals of providing a safe shelter for our animal
friends. |
