Former U.S. Treasurer Francine Neff, a Mountainair native who was active in GOP politics for decades, is remembered by colleagues as a dedicated party stalwart, talented organizer, and gracious wife and hostess.

Neff, 84, died Feb. 9 at her home in Peña Blanca.

Neff was a political neophyte when she volunteered to campaign for GOP presidential nominee Barry Goldwater in 1964, but she rose to national committeewoman before being tapped as U.S. treasurer by then-President Richard M. Nixon. She was sworn in as the 35th U.S. treasurer, and the seventh woman to hold the post, on July 21, 1974.

Neff, whose signature appeared on all U.S. bills during her tenure, was reappointed by President Gerald R. Ford and served until 1977.

Former state GOP Chairman James P. "Corky" Morris, who had known Neff for more than 40 years, said, "She was a very dedicated Republican and a very fine woman."

While serving as U.S. treasurer, Neff autographed stacks of newly reissued $2 bills, which state GOP officials sold at a premium to raise funds for the party, he said.

Morris said Neff's husband, Ed Neff, never moved to Washington during the years his wife served as treasurer, but he would often fly to functions where she was speaking, so the couple could have dinner and spend an evening together.

"I always thought that was a neat thing," Morris said. "Francine and Edward were good partners in life."

Former Bernalillo County Commissioner and state Senate Minority Leader Les Houston recalled Neff as a talented organizer and gracious hostess. "One of the most enjoyable Thanksgivings I ever spent was at her home," in Albuquerque's Four Hills area, he said.

"She was a very dedicated conservative, and she really did care about people," he said.

Neff, whose family farmed pinto beans near Moriarty during the Great Depression, proudly referred to the $36,000-per-year U.S. treasurer's job as her "first paying job."

She served as a GOP national committeewoman from 1970-74.

Former Lt. Gov. Jack Stahl said Neff's appointment to the Treasury job was a point of pride for Republicans and New Mexico.

"That was something that we were all very proud of ... and Francine didn't disappoint any of us," Stahl said Thursday. "She was still the same person, even after she gained that national position."

Neff, the daughter of an oil field worker and a teacher, was raised in Mountainair and graduated from Mountainair High School in 1944. She graduated from Cottey College in Nevada, Mo., in 1946, and received a bachelor's degree from the University of New Mexico in 1948. That same year she married Edward J. Neff. The couple, both CPAs, were principals in the Neff & Co. accounting firm.

Neff was one of 14 people to receive the American Schools and Colleges Association's Horatio Alger Award in 1976, which recognizes people who rise to success from humble beginnings.

Survivors include her daughter, Sindle Sandoval, and her son, Ed V. Neff.