Zelmer Loise Neely (Law) Obituary (1935 - 2022)

The family of Mrs. Zelmer Neely invites you to attend services virtually by clicking on the link to Peaceful Rest Funeral Chapel's Facebook Page or YouTube Channel. Please find the links below. For YouTube Live Stream: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCYbQNKQcnh8lLyMK5DLQZQ?view_as=subscriber Reverend Zelmer Loise Law Neely (who preferred to be called Loise) was born July 25, 1935. She was the eighth of nine children born to her late parents Lila (Woodard) Law and Elder Law who were sharecroppers, in Eufaula, Oklahoma. At the age of ten she moved with her family to Topeka, Kansas. She was educated in Topeka Public Schools. She became the first high school graduate in her family, graduating from Topeka High School in 1953. She later attended Washburn University. Loise met Charles Henrie Sr. when her family temporarily fled North Topeka, seeking shelter in Pierce School House during the Great Flood of 1951. Charles and Loise married in 1954, and from this union came two children, Charm and Charles Jr. Zelmer and Charles later divorced, but always remained friends. In the early eighties, Loise married Hugh Glenn Neely in Topeka, Kansas. They relocated to Irving, Texas, and later to Winslow, Arizona. After Hugh Glenn's passing, she returned to Topeka, Kansas. Loise had a strong and active love for the Lord. She had an earnest desire to preach the word of God. She was raised in the Baptist Church, but learned that women were not allowed to become Baptist preachers. While she studied other religions and Christian denominations, she found her home in the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) church, where women were allowed to become ordained A.M.E. ministers. She pastored at St. Paul A.M.E. Church in Winslow, Arizona for five years. After relocating back to Topeka, she became an Associate Minister at St. John A.M.E. Church in Topeka, until she retired from active ministry. Loise was also an author. She wrote a novel titled: Black Square in a White Circle. The main character, Catrina, was a young woman in early 1960's America, navigating through life's highs and lows as an African American female in White America. Written prior to word processing technology, she typed her manuscript on a manual (not electric) typewriter, using carbon paper between each sheet of typing paper, that enabled her to make multiple copies simultaneously. She was the first African American hired to work in the office at the Topeka location of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, where she worked ten years as the lead secretary in the Public Relations Department. She later went through extensive management training, allowing her to move up the ladder to a management position at Goodyear. Loise is preceded in death by her parents Lila and Elder Law; her husband, Hugh Glenn Neely; her brothers, Thomas Law, Elmer Law, Bob Law, Harold Law, Roy Law, Phillip Law; her sister, Zephyr Law Williams, a grandson Matthew Smith, and a great-grandson Sir Alvis Jai O'Neal IV. She leaves to cherish her memory, her children, Charm (Raymond) Johnson and Charles Leon Henrie Jr.; her ex-husband and father of her children, Charles Leon Henrie Sr.; grandchildren, Eutoica (Eddie) Patterson, Amber Johnson, Brianna (Aaron) McNaughton, and Christy Harris; great-grandchildren, Jae'Mya Lyons, Areya McNaughton, Alexander Xavier Dawkins IV, Cymone White, Cedric White III, Myka Calhoun, Soleil McNaughton, Jaiden Batiste, Kiera McNaughton, Cali White; great-great-granddaughter, Amillianah Jai O'Neal and a host of nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.