Marjorie Rae Reid

Marjorie Rae (Huffman) Reid was born July 17, 1932 in Roosevelt, Oklahoma to parents Jack and Verna (Kay) Huffman. She passed away at 8am on Friday April 6, 2018 in Allen, Texas.

Margie spent most of her earliest years in Morris, Oklahoma. The eldest of six children, her family ultimately settled in Oklahoma City, where she graduated Faith Bible High School, with a graduating class of five girls.

After high school, she worked retail at Morrow’s Nut House in Oklahoma City. Well respected by her employer, she was soon offered a position to manage the Morrow’s store in Chicago, Illinois. In 1954, she left her home and family and bought a one-way train ticket to the Windy City. She began a new life in a city where she knew absolutely no one – quite courageous for a young woman of that era. With her faith being such a central part of her life, she quickly sought out and found a new church home at a large Pentecostal church pastored by her future brother-in-law, in downtown Chicago. Margie soon met and fell in love with Bill Reid, who had recently completed his service with the Navy. After a quite brief courtship, Bill and Margie Reid were married on July 29, 1954. She continued to work and live in Chicago until Bill’s career as an engineer took them to Racine, Wisconsin. In March of 1959, they welcomed their first daughter, Marcia, and at that point, Margie happily set aside her career to become a homemaker. Their first son, Bill, was born exactly three years later in 1962. A short time later, they moved to Dalton, Illinois where they welcomed their second son, Phillip, in February 1969.

After a few years in Dalton, they were excited to find five acres of undeveloped land in rural Frankfort, Illinois. Over the course of several months, Bill and Margie built their new home from the ground up - probably unaware at the time that it would play such a major role in their family’s story for the next 36 years. The Reid family settled into their new home in 1971. Within two years of settling into Frankfort, they welcomed their second daughter Marcella in March of 1973. Shortly afterward, they suffered the tragic death of Marcia in an accident in 1974.

Their Frankfort “mini-farm,” as Margie liked to call it, was a source of pride for her. They raised a few cattle for their own table, and the five acres was used to grow a large garden. Margie continually nurtured the crops in the garden; planting, and harvesting the fruit and vegetables. She canned hundreds of jars of vegetables each year and froze large quantities of corn, okra and strawberries.

She also loved sewing, and her seemingly endless supply of fabric was a source of an ongoing joke in the family. Between the gardening and her numerous other tasks, she managed to find time to make clothes for herself, her daughters, and eventually her baby granddaughters.

She crocheted blankets, cooked every meal from scratch, and never lost sight of her chief desire, which was to nurture her family. She showed her love by serving and caring for her husband and children, with a seemingly unending supply of love, patience and stamina. She was not content unless she felt everyone around her was well cared for. She would always offer you a drink or a bite to eat, or a warm blanket or better lighting – insisting on getting you something to make you more comfortable.

She was an avid reader, and read to all her children almost every night, no matter how busy she was, or how long her day had been. She introduced them all to the library and made multiple trips there each week to supply herself and her children with reading material.

She never missed church - Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night. She was very active and supportive of her church and loved God above all else. She lived her life, both publicly and privately, in the same way. She was a woman of principle and character not just when it suited her, but because she loved God and her family, and she sought to teach those values to her children not just through words but through action. She often mentioned that Sunday was her favorite day of the week because it involved worship, hearing the word of God, and Sunday dinner with her family.

In 2007, Margie and Bill finally decided to part with their long-time home in Frankfort to spend their later years closer to their children who had, somewhat coincidentally, all established careers and families of their own in Texas. Margie was thrilled to have all her children and grandchildren near her once again, and loved nothing more than having a meal and sitting around the table after dinner laughing and talking.

Margie leaves behind a legacy to her children and grandchildren that is difficult to sum up in a few short words. She gave them an appreciation for the good things in life - a beautiful tree, a scoop of ice cream, a good book. She demonstrated the knowledge that family is your most prized possession, and having your family close to you and treasuring them was not something that could be overstated. But above all, and as a true testament to her faith even during the unbearable hardships in life, she instilled in them the knowledge that God was the central theme, and that His unconditional love for us was the meaning of it all.

Margie is survived by her son Bill Reid and his wife Priscilla, son Phil Reid and his wife Jodi, daughter Marcella Sample and her husband Derrick, grandchildren Lorraine Reid, Tori Reid, Bradley Reid, Nicholas Reid, Claire Sample and Averie Sample, and her sisters Marcella Simmons, Linda Harris and Nina Carver.

She is preceded in death by her parents, her husband of 59 years Bill Reid, daughter Marcia Reid, brother Bryce Huffman, and brother Jack Huffman.

The family will receive friends for visitation at 9am on April 11, 2018 at Life Central Church. Services will immediately follow at 10am at Life Central Church, 2301 Premier Drive, Plano, Texas. She will be laid to rest at the Dallas Fort Worth National Cemetery at 12:30pm.