DARTMOUTH — Martha Ann (Shaw) Reed of Dartmouth, Massachusetts, died Monday, September 11th, 2017, at Kindred Forestview in Wareham, after a five-year battle fighting Alzheimer’s disease. She was 77.
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 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; for many years volunteer on the Bazaar committee; and once its treasurer. Her greatest achievement was the formation of the GEC Food Pantry program in 1993 and coordinator for 20 years, with a staff of 60 volunteers providing food for the needy in the community.
Martha was a long-time Member and recently became an Honorary 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. In the past, she was also active with the Inter-Church Council of Greater New Bedford and in establishing the Council’s Camp Paradise, a day camp located in the Russell Mills village of Dartmouth.
Martha was a fundraiser and supporter of the New Bedford Festival Theater, a member of the New Bedford Preservation Society, the St. Luke’s Hospital Auxiliary, WHALE, the Old Dartmouth Historical Society, and is a descendent of the whaling captain Abner Barker Shaw of the BARK MARS.
Martha leaves behind her husband of 53 years, William Irving Reed of Dartmouth, a local funeral director; and 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.
Visitation will take place on Friday, September 15, 2017, from 4:30-7:00pm, at the Wilson Chapel, 479 County Street, New Bedford. A Celebration of Life service will be held at 12 noon on Saturday, September 16, 2017, at Grace Episcopal Church, 422 County Street, New Bedford. 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.
Burial is private at Riverside Cemetery in Fairhaven.