Martha S. Reed, 77

Sep 19, 2017

Martha Ann (Shaw) Reed, 77, of Dartmouth, died on September 11th, 2017 at Kindred Forestview in Wareham after a five-year battle fighting Alzheimer’s disease.

Born in New Bedford, she was the daughter of the late Percy and M. Louise (King) Shaw. Martha was a graduate of New Bedford High School and Children’s Hospital School of Nursing in Boston. She was employed at Children’s Hospital as staff nurse and then head nurse of the medical/surgical unit, then moved back to New Bedford after marrying and worked at the Lombard Children’s unit at St. Luke’s Hospital.

She later dedicated her time to raising her four children and managing an active household of six, including numerous children’s activities.

Martha was ever-present at the Betsey B. Winslow Elementary School and was instrumental in organizing its first library. She served as Co-President of the PTO and was an active fundraiser. In her later years, she served as Co-President of the NBHS Band Boosters Association and again as a dedicated fundraiser, chaperone, and nurse for field competitions and trips.

A member of Grace Episcopal Church since birth, Martha was a Sunday school teacher, junior altar guild member, chair of the flower committee delivering arrangements to the sick and shut-ins, and for many years volunteered on the Bazaar Committee.

She was a long-time member of the Ladies Branch of the New Bedford Port Society, and for a few years had served as the chair of the Society’s scholarship committee.

She leaves behind her husband of 53 years, William Irving Reed of Dartmouth; her children and their families: Andrew Jamison Reed of Blackstone and his daughter Samantha; Christopher Shaw Reed of Brookline and his wife Paige Scott Reed and their children Silas, Jasper, and Etta; Amy Louise Reed of Natick and her wife Amanda (Bachelder) Reed and their children Zinnia and Cedar; and Timothy William Reed of Feura Bush, New York, and his son Gavin. She also leaves her brother Roland Shaw and his wife Harriet (Wilbur) Shaw of New Bedford and their children Stephen and Sandra and their families; and her sister-in-law Joan (Rodman) Reed, wife of the late Richard A. Reed, of Dartmouth and their children Elizabeth and Jonathan and their families; and many cousins.

Burial was at Riverside Cemetery in Fairhaven.

Remembrances in Martha’s name may be made to the Food Pantry of Grace Episcopal Church, 133 School Street, New Bedford 02740; the Ladies Branch of the New Bedford Port Society, 15 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford 02740; or the Alzheimer’s Association, 480 Pleasant Street, Watertown, MA 02472 or at ALZ.ORG.