Maria " Ria" Elisabeth (Langeveld) Neville Obituary (1939 - 2020)

Maria (Ria) Elisabeth Langeveld Neville passed away June 9, 2020, with her husband at her side. She was born February 26, 1939 in Amsterdam, North Holland, the Netherlands, the first of three children born to Maarten G. Langeveld and Maria Elisabeth van den Boogert Langeveld. Following WWII, at the age of 8, she and her family came to America eventually settling in Ogden, UT. She began school not speaking a word of English and with the help and inspiration of a favorite teacher, progressed through the education system graduating from Weber State and eventually Utah State with a degree in elementary education and taught briefly for the Ogden School District. Shortly after graduation from Utah State, she moved to California to accept a teaching position and was employed over time with both the Alum Rock School District and the San Jose Unified School District, retiring in 1998. She was an excellent, loving and caring teacher. Many of her students loved her and many parents besieged her principal with requests to have their child placed in her class. Eventually she met her husband who vividly recalled the moment of his proposal. On the spur of the moment he asked her to marry him. She replied yes, but then asked two more times to be proposed to, which requests he agreed. He then asked, out of curiosity, why two more proposals to which she replied, "it sounded good." On June 26, 1964 Ria and Lonnie O. Neville were married in the Salt Lake Temple by Richard L. Evans, a marriage that has endured the test of time, with a few timeouts, for 56 years. Although experiencing many medical problems during her life, she met them head on and rarely, if ever, complained. She loved to draw and paint, and along with her husband, developed a fondness for antiques. She also developed an early taste of motherhood by caring for her two younger brothers, (whose escapades we won't discuss here), as both parents worked. She was preceded in death by her parents, grandparents and all her aunts and uncles. She is survived by her husband; son David O. Neville, Grinnell, IA; two grandchildren, Ian and Katarina, Grinnell, IA; both brothers Charles L. (Marilyn) Langeveld, Ogden and Joe M. (Linda) Langeveld, North Ogden. A viewing will be held Tuesday, June 16, 2020 at the Shadow Mountain Ward, 5191 Old Post Road, So. Ogden, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. followed by Graveside Services at 12 noon at Washington Heights Memorial Park, 4500 Washington Blvd. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.myers-mortuary.com