Mary Etta (Sharples) Reese

Mary Etta (Sharples) Reese, 96, died Thursday, January 19, 2023 at the Community Hospice Truman House in New Philadelphia.

Mary was born on May 24, 1926 at the home of her parents, the late Fred and Ethel (McCurdy) Sharples in Tunnel Hill, Ohio.  She attended Brush College for 4 years, walking to the one room school each day.  At Brush College, there was one teacher for all 8 grades, a pot-belly stove for heat in the winter and the students drank from a pale of water, all sharing the same cup!

She graduated from Warsaw High School in 1944 and began making fuel tanks for airplanes at Firestone War Plant, which was located on 3rd Street in Coshocton, the former site of Stone Container/Rock Tenn.  After World War II the factory closed and she then attended The Ohio State University.  Mary was later employed by The Ohio Power Company, which was located on N. 4th Street at the current KnoHoCo offices.  She was a Home Service Representative and held cooking classes for clubs and other organizations teaching attendees how to operate electric ranges.  She also farmed and gardened near Fresno alongside her husband, Rodney E. Reese, who she married on October 22, 1949 in Coshocton.  He preceded her in death on September 9, 2002.  For 28 years, prior to her retirement, Mary drove school buses for Ridgewood Schools.  She was a member of the Fresno Presbyterian Church, Farm Bureau, Chili Grange and Fresno Sorosis.

Mary is survived by her children, Duane (Peggy Newquist) Reese of Lincoln, NE and Shelley (John S.) McPeek of Coshocton; grandchildren Alex and Christian Reese-Newquist, Ryan (Camille) and Chelsey McPeek; great grandsons, August and Andres McPeek along with several nieces and nephews.  Her sisters, Dorothy Lapp and Alice Moore, proceeded her in death as did her two brothers, Russell and Robert Sharples.  The brothers both died in 1944 in plane crashes while serving in the US Air Force abroad during World War II.

Per her wishes, there will be a private family burial of her cremains at a later date at Valley View Cemetery in Warsaw. Fischer Funeral Home in Warsaw is assisting the family. www.fischerfuneralhome.com

 Memorial contributions may be made to Community Hospice, 716 Commercial Ave. SW New Philadelphia, OH 44663; or to Coshocton In Bloom, P.O. Box 1221 Coshocton, OH 43812 as a tribute to her love of gardening and flowers.

Category: Obituaries