Phoebe L. Motley

OBITUARY FOR PHOEBE MOTLEY DIED NOV 21, 2017 It is with a heavy heart that the family of Phoebe Motley announce her passing on November 21, 2017 at the age of 86 after succumbing to a brief illness. Born in McAlester, OK, on August 6th, 1931, to George and Letha Reed, Phoebe graduated from McAlester High School in 1949 (Go Buffalos!). She went to work as a secretary in Oklahoma City for an oil exploration company. She met her future husband, Richard Manning, while he was teaching aviation at Tinker Air Force Base there. They were married in 1954 and had their daughter, Laura. After a number of years, the couple divorced, and Phoebe moved with Laura back to McAlester in 1963 to work for Lockheed. She was well respected for her excellence in typing and organization. In 1977, her career took her to Los Angeles to work at Lockheed headquarters as a retirement investment accountant. Her years in California were happy ones, especially after Laura moved there to go to graduate school. In the 1990s Lockheed merged with Martin Marietta, and Phoebe moved with headquarters when they relocated to Bethesda, MD, near where Laura and her family lived. This enabled her to spend more time with her beloved grandsons, Matthew and Mark Stubenberg. They all played endless rounds of their favorite game—Monopoly. Phoebe retired in 1999 shortly after reconnected with her High School sweetheart, Dee Motley. They wed in 1999 and moved back to McAlester, OK, where they could take care of her mother, Letha. Letha loved having her and Phoebe’s sister Betty both there. Letha died in 2005, and Dee in 2006. Phoebe moved back to Maryland in 2009 to be near Laura, son-in-law Tom Johnson, Matthew and Mark, and step-grandchildren Miles, Grace, and Neil. Riderwood was a great retirement community for her. There she spent time playing (and often winning) her favorite card game—Bridge. In January of 2015, things took a turn for worse when a sudden bout of dehydration aggravated her progressing dementia. During her final 2 years, Phoebe had the loving care of a number of women from Sierra Leone. Hannah, Margaret, Hadja, Assie, Adama, and Hawanatu treated her with respect and love. Hawanatu practically adopted Phoebe as a member of her own family, caring for her more lovingly than anyone could hope. At the end, she was with Laura, Tom, Hawanatu, her grandson, and a caring nurse. The staff on duty all came to say goodbye. What a loving tribute to a wonderful and well-lived life.