Reba (Hare) Lunney
SANFORD, N.C. – Reba (Hare) Lunney, 101, passed away peacefully on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024, in Sanford, N.C.
She was born in Itawamba County, Miss., on April 25, 1922, and was one of three children born to Jesse Lee Hare and Docia (Nanney) Hare. She graduated from Itawamba High School and the University of Tennessee School of Nursing’s R.N. program in 1944.
She joined the Army Nurse Corp in January 1945 and served two and a half years, including time in England during World War II. She married Capt. Edw. J. Lunney Jr. on Feb. 2, 1947, while both were stationed at Ft. McClellan, Ala. She was separated from the Army Nurse Corps in August 1947 as 1st Lt. Reba Hare Lunney. She continued as an Army wife based in various Army forts, as well as Kobe, Japan and Frankfurt, Germany before settling in Augusta / Gardiner.
Reba worked at the Togus Veterans Admin. Hospital in Augusta as a Head Nurse in Psychiatry, and she retired with 29 years nine months of Federal Service in 1982.
Her husband died in July 1988 and Reba began spending winters in Sanford, N.C. near two of her older sons. Reba moved permanently to Sanford, N.C. in 2008, but she visited Maine twice a year to see family and friends.
She was predeceased by her husband, Edward of Maine; her sister, Tarlie McCombs of Texas, her brother, Ellis Hare of Miss.; two special friends, Lottie Carlson of Manchester and Joan Thomas of Litchfield.
Reba is survived by four sons and two daughters, Edward (Deitra) of Sanford, N.C., Thomas (Rebecca) of Fayetteville, N.C., James of Bethel, John of Gardiner, Mary of Sanford, N.C., and Martha (Regina) of Richmond, Calif.; four grandchildren and one great-granddaughter, Patrick Lunney of Angier, N.C., Jennifer Lunney of Fayetteville, N.C., Meagan Lunney and Tara (Rick) Savage of Bethel, and Olivia Grace Lunney of Bethel. She is also survived by a special nephew, Don (Erline) Hare of Byhalia, Miss., and other nieces and nephews; three very dear friends, Anne Marie (Joe) Stawarz of Adams, Mass., Frances (Bob) Greeley of Sidney, and Julianne McCracken of Sanford, N.C.
The family cherishes the memories of spending April vacations on Cape Hatteras Island, N.C. to celebrate their mother’s birthday for the past 35 years. Her love of reading was passed on to her children, as well as her love for travel with family and friends. Mom often reminisced about the many afternoons she sat on the back porch in Gardiner visiting with her children and friends.
Reba will be laid to rest beside her husband at the Central Maine Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery, 143 Blue Star Ave., Augusta, with full military honors.
Arrangements are entrusted with Staples Funeral Home and Cremation Care, 53 Brunswick Ave., Gardiner. Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared with the family on the obituary page of the Staples Funeral Home website, http://www.staplesfuneralhome.com
In lieu of flowers,
donations may be made to your local library.
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