Goodbye, Grandma

My grandmother Earnestine, my father's mother, passed away yesterday morning in Georgia at the age of 98. Amazingly, her husband, my grandfather Marvin E. Reed, Sr., lived to 98 as well. He passes away in December of 2006. It's wonderful that I got to know these folks for so long, but it's still painful when they leave.

It's taken me most of a day to begin to emotionally process her death. Sadly, as we lived about a thousand miles from her when I was a child, I saw her generally once a year. These visits, thus, were charged with importance for both her and Here's her short biography and a link to some wonderful old photos of her and Marvin, Sr.

Earnestine Lynn Reed
November 7, 1913 - February 29, 2012

Earnestine Lynn Reed, 98, of Bainbridge, GA, passed away Wednesday, February 29, 2012 at

Mrs. Reed was born in Pine Hill, Decatur County, GA in 1913, the daughter of Charlie T. Lynn and Mary Ada Hatcher Lynn. She was a graduate of Pine Hill School, Class of 1931, and was the widow of the late Marvin E. Reed, Sr. Earnestine and Marvin enjoyed 72 years of marriage, 56 of them at their flower-surrounded home on East Evans Street in Bainbridge, GA. More recently, she was a resident of Willow Ridge Assisted Living for five years and subsequently of Memorial Manor.

Upon Earnestine and Marvin's marriage in 1934, Earnestine moved to Port Arthur, TX, to join Marvin who was employed there with the Texas Company (later Texaco). Earnestine and Marvin enjoyed their Texas years immensely and took great pride in their adopted state. In 1950, however, they decided to return to Bainbridge, GA to make their home in the area where they had been reared, where they were surrounded by relatives and friends, and where they had fallen in love in the years after high school.

Beginning not long after their return to Bainbridge, GA, Earnestine sought employment and remained employed in a wide variety of interesting positions until reaching retirement age. She was particularly proud of her service as a LINK instructor, training young Air Force officers in instrument flying at Bainbridge Air Base for several years in the 1950s. Subsequently, she served as an executive assistant to a number of leading business people in Bainbridge.

In 1962 she joined the Bainbridge chapter of Pilot Club International, a women's professional organization, and had the honor of serving as President of the chapter several times over the years and was still a member on the Emeritus membership list. She relished representing Bainbridge at annual Pilot Club conferences in major cities in the United States and Canada during her presidential years, as well as making public presentations for the club at many events in Bainbridge.

Earnestine was also a devoted member of The First Baptist Church of Bainbridge from the time of her return to Decatur County, and, after retirement, took particular interest in the church's Saints Alive senior choral group for which she and Marvin, Sr. sang for many years. They both were very proud of their many years of uninterrupted perfect attendance at rehearsals and performances of this group, as well as their travels far and wide with the Saints.

Earnestine is survived by her son, Marvin, Jr. and daughter-in-law, Judith, of Hempstead, NY; her two grandchildren, Michael Reed and his wife, Shannon, of Glendale, CA and Alison Reed Schneider and her husband, Michael, of Clayton, MO; her two sisters, Thelma Lynn Floyd and Joyce Lynn Poitevint, both of Bainbridge; her five great-grandchildren, Sam Schneider, Ben Schneider, Jake Schneider, Catalina Reed and Sydney Reed; and countless nieces and nephews.

For more photos View the image gallery