Elizabeth Ann Rumley Reese Maxson's Obituary
Mrs. Elizabeth Ann Rumley Reese Maxson, 82 of Fayetteville, AR passed away Tuesday, April 24, 2007 at her home in Fayetteville. She was born August 4, 1924 to James D. and Bessie Lee (Frostick) Rumley in a small seafishing town on the North Carolina coast. She graduated from Beaufort High School and attended Mars Hill College, and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a business degree. During that time while in Beaufort she served as a designated coast watcher for enemy planes and ships, to which she always commented, "All I saw were seagulls."
She married in 1949 to Capt. Shirley Wayne Reese USMC, and had two daughters, Mary Elizabeth in North Carolina, and Sharon Lee, at Camp Pendleton, CA. Her husband died in 1953 due to a Marine jet accident.
Elizabeth went on to achieve a degree in elementary school teaching and taught for 24 years. In 1960 she remarried to Don Maxson. They retired to Fayetteville, AR in 1982 and became very active in Fayetteville Newcomers Club, Northwest Arkansas Symphony Society, Single Parent Scholarship, AAUW, and the First United Presbyterian Church of Fayetteville.
She was preceded in death by her parents, sister Margaret, and both husbands.
She is survived by her daughters, Mary Elizabeth Abney and husband Dick of Dallas, TX, Sharon Lee Reese of Fayetteville, and four grandchildren, Michael Abney of Houston, TX, Elizabeth Abney of Dallas, TX, Margaret Elizabeth Reese of Bentonville, AR, and Rosalee Ann Reese of Fayetteville, AR.
Elizabeth was a tolerant, accepting, and delightful person. She loved life, wine, and her friends and family. Elizabeth also loved dogs, and was especially tolerant of them. She will be greatly missed.
A memorial service will be held 1:00 PM, Friday, June 8, 2007 at the First United Presbyterian Church in Fayetteville.
Memorials may be made to the Single Parent Scholarship Fund of Washington County, Northwest Arkansas Symphony Society, First United Presbyterian Church of Fayetteville, or to Washington Regional Hospice.
To sign the online guest book please visit www.nelsonberna.com
The family wishes to thank Washington Regional Hospice for their wonderful care during Elizabeth's last weeks.
Arrangements are under the direction of Nelson-Berna Funeral Home and Crematory of Fayetteville, AR.
Visitation Date Time None Visitation Location Service Date Time Friday June 8, 2007 1:00 PM Service Location First United Presbyterian Church in Fayetteville
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