Anne Irby Neyland was born on November 26th, 1962, to Bob and Betty Irby in Nashville Tennessee. Her brother, John, was born 2 years later. She grew up in a log house that was as filled with love as it was felines. She attended Baylor University where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in English in 1985. Putting her degree to use, she returned to Nashville and went to work for the Baptist Sunday School Board (now Lifeway) as an editor for their children's Bible study literature. In the Spring of 1986, she attended the funeral of a church friend, where she would meet her future husband, Ron Neyland. They married on May 23rd, 1987.

After living in Dallas for 3 years, they moved to Houston, where their family would grow. Son, Andrew, was born in 1994 and Anne would become a stay-at-home mom to raise him. She again put her English degree to good use, this time though, as a storyteller. Every night, she would tell him a "once upon a time…" story before bed, recounting the day with humorous flourishes. This tradition would continue when her daughter, Amanda, was born in 2005 (yes… 11 years after the first one). She enjoyed traveling with her family, especially to Disney World. Through Amanda, Anne became involved with Houston's Christian Youth Theater (CYT) program. She made a point to attend all of Amanda's shows and help where possible, even being known as the leader of the "Tea Ministry", where she exhibited her servant's heart to those working on the production.

Over the last 30 years, Anne remained heavily involved with her church, Champion Forest Baptist Church (CFBC). Her passion for serving and helping others was manifested in work with several iterations of prayer ministries, most recently serving on the prayer team for the life group class she loved so much. Her service to God on this earth came to an end on May 19th, 2025, when she found peace and healing after battling cancer. She is survived by husband Ron, son Drew (and wife Sydnee), daughter Amanda, brother John Irby, nephew Joe Irby (wife Ashton, son JW), aunt Ann Hunt, and persnickety Persian Peter Parker Russel (cat).

A celebration of life for Anne will be held on Tuesday, May 27, 2025 at 4 pm. The service will take place at Champion Forest Baptist Church's North Klein campus at 4515 Spring Stuebner Rd, Spring, TX 77389. The service will be followed by a reception with light refreshments.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Houston's Christian Youth Theater organization at www.cythouston.org