Martha Rice Reed
July 14, 1920 — June 21, 2014
Martha Rice Reed, 93, of Lewisburg, passed away Saturday, June 21, 2014 at RiverWoods, Lewisburg.
She was born July 14, 1920 in Lewisburg, a daughter of the late John Winter Rice and Edna (Miller) Rice. She met her future husband, Charles [Chuck] Palmer Reed, while they were Bucknell students. In May of 1943, they married in San Diego, CA. with Chuck’s Navy LST crew as witnesses. Chuck preceded her in death September 17, 1999, having celebrated 56 years of marriage together.
Martha was a 1937 graduate of Lewisburg High School. She received her Master’s in Biology and Medical Technology from Bucknell in 1941. Martha and Chuck lived in cities throughout the NE and Midwest for Chuck's civil engineering work, and eventually settled in New Jersey. Martha worked as a high school Biology teacher for many years in South Plainfield, and Cherry Hill, New Jersey, before the couple retired to Lewisburg.
Martha had an active retirement, traveling to China with the People-to-People Foundation, to Greece and Turkey with a religious study tour, to Hawaii with Chuck on their 50 th anniversary, and to Texas, Alaska, and New Zealand with her sons’ families. She was a member of Beaver Memorial United Methodist Church, Lewisburg, where she volunteered as the church historian. Martha was a member of the Lewisburg Garden Club and League of Women Voters. A member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority while attending Bucknell, Martha served as the Lewisburg financial trustee for the chapter. She studied and taught homeopathy in self-help study groups in Lewisburg. She and Chuck were avid followers of Bucknell Bison basketball.
Surviving are her sons and daughters-in-law, John C. Reed, of Bethesda, MD, Mark A. Reed of Houston. TX, Carla Oswald Reed, and Lucy Brown Reed; five grandchildren, Rachel Spencer-Reed, Alexa Hutchins, Shawna Reed, Paige Ullrich Rice and Sarah Hobbs; and seven great-grandchildren, Emerson, Phoebe, Max, Ada, Jack, Edith and Grace.
In addition to her parents and husband she was predeceased by one grandson, Cyrus Reed; four brothers, one sister, and her siblings’ spouses.
A memorial service will be held at 10:30 AM Saturday, July 12 at Beaver Memorial United Methodist Church, with her pastors, Rev. Rebecca Foote and Timothy Hogan officiating, After interment in Lewisburg Cemetery there will be a reception at Beaver Memorial.
The family will provide flowers and suggests contributions in Martha’s name be made to the RiverWoods Benevolent Fund, 90 Maplewood Drive, Lewisburg, PA 17837 or to The Professor John W. Rice Scholarship in Biology. Please make checks payable to Bucknell University for this scholarship fund and address to Bucknell University, Finance Office, 1 Dent Drive, Lewisburg, PA 17837. On line donations to Bucknell can also be specified for this fund
The family is being assisted by Cronrath-Grenoble Funeral Home, 106 S. Second St. Lewisburg.