Reba Lunsford Crosby died at the age of 89 on August 19, 2014. Born in Kannapolis, North Carolina, Reba moved to Mooresville with her family as a young woman. There she met Chester Kenneth Lunsford; they were married after a brief courtship; shortly thereafter, they moved to Charlotte, NC, where Chester joined a business with his two brothers. Chester and Reba enjoyed a long and wonderful marriage until Chester’s death in 1994. In 1996, Reba married John Crosby, a member of Life Builders, a church that Reba had been a member of for well over fifty years. John was also a long-time member of that church and had recently lost his wife.
Reba and Chester Lunsford had two children, Ronald F. Lunsford, who resides in Kannapolis, NC; and Joyce Aletta Hamrick, who resides in Mooresboro, NC. Reba is also survived by five grandchildren—Tamara Staehler, of Concord, NC; Amy Houser, of Cliffside, NC; Lance Hamrick, of Gastonia, NC; Christopher Lunsford, of Pittsburgh, PA; and Jonathan Hamrick, of Charlotte, NC—and by six great grandchildren—Maggie Houser, Logan Houser, Olivia Houser, James Staehler, Lucas Lunsford, and Milan Andres Hamrick.
Reba’s careers included work with her husband, Chester, in the business he owned with his brothers; work as a cosmetologist; and finally, work at Carolinas Medical Center as a licensed practical nurse. In addition to these careers, Reba was a loving and dedicated mother and an active member of her church, where she played the piano, sung in the choir, and ministered to church members in times of need. Her fried chicken, chicken dumplings, and coconut cakes were famous mainstays of church dinners.
But Reba’s essence is best captured in Romans 12:10: “[Be] kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another.” As she struggled to remember where she was or who some of the people in her life were, she would “prefer” to sit on an uncomfortable bench so that her visitor could have a more comfortable seat. More than once, when a visitor would sit with her while she ate, she would look up horrified that she was eating when the visitor had no food. Reassured for the moment that the visitor was not hungry, she would soon forget and once again beg the visitor to take some of the food on her plate. These “small” acts of kindness deep into her dementia stood as stark reminders of her larger-than-life preference for others.
We will miss her forever!
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in honor of Reba to Kings Mountain Hospice House at 951 Windover Heights Drive, Shelby, NC 28150.
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