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September 23, 2023
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Wednesday, September 27, 2023 from 3-7 PM.
A funeral service will be held at 10 AM on Thursday, September 28, 2023, at the funeral home. Burial will follow at the Fair Lawn Cemetery, Fair Lawn, NJ.
Cornelius “Neil” Southway, age 94 of Warwick, NY died on Saturday, September 23, 2023.
Neil was born at home on Brown Avenue in Prospect Park, NJ just a few months before the Stock Market crash of 1929. He was the oldest of five sons born into his family, with one of them passing away as an infant. As a teenager, Neil began working as a painter with his uncle before finishing high school. Times were tough and he did what was necessary to help support his family. Soon he found himself drafted into the U.S. Army, serving during the Korean War. Upon returning to civilian life, Neil carried with him a heavy PTSD burden that remained with him throughout his lifetime. As a result, he resolved never to marry. He focused on his life’s work and became a skilled craftsman and a master of many trades, including masonry, carpentry, and cabinet making. He could build anything, fix anything, and was the handiest guy you could ever hope to have around. Family and friends alike would frequently call on Neil for help, and he was always glad to be of service. He was well loved by all who knew him, a reliable friend, and generous almost to a fault.
In 2001, Neil was working on a project for a local green house when he met Jean Mol, a bookkeeper there. Neil was seventy-two years old when he mustered the courage to ask her out to dinner, and she accepted. Within a year, at the young age of seventy-three, Neil married for the first time. He and Jean enjoyed a honeymoon to Maine and then settled into a loving and supportive marriage of twenty-one years. He was simply a great guy who adored his wife, and Jean will miss him dearly.
Neil is survived by his wife, Jean (Mol) of Warwick, NY, his three stepchildren: Cindy Verblaauw and her husband Ed of Warwick, NY, Mark Prol and his wife Nina of Alpharetta, Georgia, and Andy Prol and his wife Lori of Medford, NJ, a brother; Howard Southway and his wife Eleanor of Rockaway, NJ, sister-in-law; Lena Southway of Pompton Plains, eight grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews that loved and respected him. Neil was predeceased by his brother Robert Southway and his wife Beatrice, and by his brother Peter Southway.
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Wednesday, September 27, 2023 from 3-7 PM.
A funeral service will be held at 10 AM on Thursday, September 28, 2023, at the funeral home. Burial will follow at the Fair Lawn Cemetery, Fair Lawn, NJ.
September 23, 2023
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Wednesday, September 27, 2023 from 3-7 PM.
A funeral service will be held at 10 AM on Thursday, September 28, 2023, at the funeral home. Burial will follow at the Fair Lawn Cemetery, Fair Lawn, NJ.
Cornelius “Neil” Southway, age 94 of Warwick, NY died on Saturday, September 23, 2023.
Neil was born at home on Brown Avenue in Prospect Park, NJ just a few months before the Stock Market crash of 1929. He was the oldest of five sons born into his family, with one of them passing away as an infant. As a teenager, Neil began working as a painter with his uncle before finishing high school. Times were tough and he did what was necessary to help support his family. Soon he found himself drafted into the U.S. Army, serving during the Korean War. Upon returning to civilian life, Neil carried with him a heavy PTSD burden that remained with him throughout his lifetime. As a result, he resolved never to marry. He focused on his life’s work and became a skilled craftsman and a master of many trades, including masonry, carpentry, and cabinet making. He could build anything, fix anything, and was the handiest guy you could ever hope to have around. Family and friends alike would frequently call on Neil for help, and he was always glad to be of service. He was well loved by all who knew him, a reliable friend, and generous almost to a fault.
In 2001, Neil was working on a project for a local green house when he met Jean Mol, a bookkeeper there. Neil was seventy-two years old when he mustered the courage to ask her out to dinner, and she accepted. Within a year, at the young age of seventy-three, Neil married for the first time. He and Jean enjoyed a honeymoon to Maine and then settled into a loving and supportive marriage of twenty-one years. He was simply a great guy who adored his wife, and Jean will miss him dearly.
Neil is survived by his wife, Jean (Mol) of Warwick, NY, his three stepchildren: Cindy Verblaauw and her husband Ed of Warwick, NY, Mark Prol and his wife Nina of Alpharetta, Georgia, and Andy Prol and his wife Lori of Medford, NJ, a brother; Howard Southway and his wife Eleanor of Rockaway, NJ, sister-in-law; Lena Southway of Pompton Plains, eight grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews that loved and respected him. Neil was predeceased by his brother Robert Southway and his wife Beatrice, and by his brother Peter Southway.
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