Nellie (Margaret) Margaret Reed

Nellie “Margaret” Reed (Hall), 96 ½. Margaret passed away on January 22, 2016. Margaret was born on June 28, 1919, in the little town of Murtaugh, Idaho. She was the fourth of eight children born to W.C. and Nellie Hall. She had 3 children (Joanne, Bob, and Danny), 4 grandchildren (Stephani, Scott, Chris, and Patrick), 4 Great grandchildren (Courtney, Daniel, Madeline, and Daniel), and 2 Great great grandchildren (Hailey and Nathan). Growing up, Margaret was her mother’s right hand helper along with working in her father’s store/meat market. The family moved from Idaho to Southern CA, where she met her future husband John R. Reed, while working in the shipyards during WWII. They eloped to Las Vegas and married on October 9, 1942. The Navy shipped John to Rhode Island and Margaret drove across country to join him. Their daughter Mary Joanne, was born on December 28, 1943, and mother and baby drove back across country to CA, by themselves, when Joanne was just 3 mo. old. She went back to work until the war was over and had her second child John Robert Reed II, on August 27, 1946. A third child, Daniel Patrick Reed was born on July 28, 1950. Margaret devoted her early years to her family and church, but felt she needed more purpose in her life, so she began going to college in Long Beach, CA, where the family had lived for several years. With 3 children, at the age of 40, Margaret got her first teaching job with the Long Beach Unified School District. She was an outstanding teacher at Mark Twain, Signal Hill, and Bixby Elementary Schools for 27 years. After John died in 1985, after 42 happy years of marriage, at the age of 76, Margaret sold her Rossmoor home and moved herself to Phoenix, AZ, to be closer to her daughter, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. She worked in her daughter’s classroom the last 4 years of her teaching career, where she was a great asset to the children. Margaret was the glue that held her family together. She had a sweet, loving spirit until the very end, and was ALWAYS ready to assist anyone in need – especially if it was family. She will be greatly missed.