Martha Lee Johnson and Henry Charles Reed

HENRY CHARLES REED died in 1982.⁵⁰⁷

He married MARTHA LEE JOHNSON on October 9, 1947 in Poplar Bluff, Jasper, Missouri,⁹⁴⁰ daughter of MARTHA SHANDS and HENRY LEE JOHNSON. She was born March 21, 1917 near Avilla, Jasper, Missouri,⁵⁰⁷ and died August 7, 2009 in McCune-Brooks Hospital, Carthage, Jasper, Missouri.⁵⁰⁷ She is buried in Fasken Cemetery, Carthage, Jasper, Missouri.⁵⁰⁷

• Descendant Reports
  • William Scott Descendant Report (Ancestor of Martha L. Johnson)

Education

Marriage Announcements and News

Joplin Globe, October 3, 1947⁷³⁹

Apply for Marriage Licenses

Carthage, MO., Oct. 2. — Application for marriage licenses were filed here this morning by Frank M. Evans, jr., and Miss Marjorie L. McIntyre of Joplin, and Harry C. Reed and Martha Lee Johnson, both of Carthage.

Obituaries

Carthage Press, August 10, 2009⁵⁰⁷

CARTHAGE, Mo.

Martha Lee Reed

Martha Lee Reed, 92, of Carthage, Mo. died August 7, 2009, at McCune Brooks Hospital of natural causes.

Martha was born in a farmhouse near Avilla, Mo. on March 21, 1917. One of nine children of Henry and Mattie Johnson, Martha was raised on the farm and graduated from Carthage Senior High School in 1936.

She met the man of her dreams, Harry Charles Reed of Carthage (passed in 1982) while working at H.E. Williams, Inc. just prior to the war. In 1947, after Harry returned from the war, they were married in Poplar Bluff, Mo., where Harry was attending watch-making school. Their loving marriage produced six children: four sons and two daughters.

Best known for: Martha was the nucleus of her large and extended family and known best to her family and friends for her non-judgmental, unconditional love, support and devotion. A devout Nazarene, Martha’s faith in God and her love of family saw her unwaveringly through many of life’s trials and tribulations.

Open kitchen policy: Nobody was a stranger in her kitchen. If Martha couldn’t win you over with kindness, she found her way to your heart through your stomach as she lured you into her kitchen, where something was always baking in the oven. Pies, cookies and cinnamon kisses were the favorite weapons in her arsenal of love. It was primarily in the kitchen where she juggled her roles as Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Great Grandmother and administer of love.

A favorite memory: An ardent seamstress, Martha spent much of the time of her latter years at St. Luke’s Nursing Center in Carthage sewing and quilting pillows as gifts for her family and friends. Surrounded by pictures of Grandchildren and the ever-present painting of Jesus of Nazareth, Martha was always using her artistic talents to embroider a gift to bring joy to another.

Family includes: one surviving sister: Dorothy Slates Solomonson of Carthage, five children: Kent Reed of Kansas City, Gary Reed of Carthage, Karen Gerard of Jasper, Gail Kerrigan of Kansas City, Brad Reed (passed in 2006), Roland Reed of El Dorado, Mo., 14 Grandchildren and 12 Great Grandchildren.

The last word: Martha’s favorite inspirational poem by Nona Brooks Morrison captured her essence:

She was an artist who wrote with a needle on whatever she found close at hand; sewing the importance of their lives into fabric, whether feed sacks or satin, gingham or serge.

We will miss you Nana.…..

Funeral Services will be Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009, at Fasken Cemetery east of Carthage. The family will receive friends from 7-8 p.m. Monday, Aug. 10, 2009, at Weng Funeral Chapel in Jasper, Mo. Burial will be in Fasken Cemetery. Arrangements are under the direction of Weng Funeral Chapel.

Census Records

Date	Location	Enumerated Names
January 19, 1920705	McDonald Township, Jasper, Missouri	Henry Lee Johnson Hugh Lee Johnson Elizabeth P. Johnson Fern Irene Johnson Mark D. Johnson Ollie Marie Johnson Martha Lee Johnson Glenn D. Johnson Frank E. Johnson
April 5, 1930704	McDonald Township, Jasper, Missouri	Henry Lee Johnson Martha Shands Hugh Lee Johnson Elizabeth P. Johnson Fern Irene Johnson Mark D. Johnson Ollie Marie Johnson Martha Lee Johnson Glenn D. Johnson Daughter Mary Elizabeth Doering
April 26, 19402751	Jackson, Jasper, Missouri	Henry Lee Johnson Martha Shands Mark D. Johnson Ollie Marie Johnson Martha Lee Johnson Glenn D. Johnson Daughter