Leva “Darlene” Lewis Dickerson Reed, 75, of Lucasville, Ohio, passed away peacefully Thursday afternoon, February 18, 2016, surrounded by her family at Adena Regional Medical Center in Chillicothe, Ohio.
She was born December 18, 1940, in Lewis County, a daughter of the late Leroy “Buck” and Nola Marlowe Lewis.
Darlene loved her family, believed the Jehovah Witness faith, and had a loving and generous spirit. In prayer, she never asked for anything for herself, but always prayed with a joyful heart for someone else. She enjoyed the simpler things in life and instilled that in her children and grandchildren. She took great pride in their many achievements in the Army, Attorney General’s Office/JAG, law enforcement, department of rehabilitation & corrections, victim’s advocacy, public school system, caregiving, and animal rights and the scholarships to prestigious colleges offered to her grandchildren.
She loved planting her zinnias and morning glories from seed and watching them grow on the fence, seeing her lilac bush bloom, the first sign of a robin in the spring, watching the snow fall from her window and cover the ground. She enjoyed canning and took pride in how pretty her jams and jellies looked in their jars. She loved her coffee in the morning, solving her crossword puzzle in the evening and winning a few dollars on a lottery ticket given to her by family and friends.
Darlene loved to cook and was famous for her holiday fruit cake that her family anxiously waited all year for. She loved her Sunday dinners and looked forward to her family eating them. She enjoyed this tradition until her passing.
Most of all, Darlene was her children’s best friend.
She was deeply loved and will be sadly missed by everyone who knew her.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her stepmother, Nellie Carter Lewis; two grandsons, Gabriel Thomson Dickerson and Geoffrey Michael Alley; one brother, Lowell Lewis; and five sisters, Sue Gallenstein, Kathryn Jerrells, Evelyn Boyd, Helen Clemons and Jeanie Woods.
Leva is survived by her husband of 35 years, Harold Reed; four sons and three daughters-in-law, Brian Dickerson of Danville, Indiana, David and Clara Dickerson and Timothy and Ginny Dickerson, all of Beaver, Ohio, and Christopher and Trina Dickerson of Waverly, Ohio; four daughters and two sons-in-law, Karen Lundy and Sheryl Lemaster, both of Jackson, Ohio, Kathy and Mark Hutton of Londonderry, Ohio, and Cindy and John Brunner of Beaver, Ohio; 25 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren and the anticipation of another great grandson in July; one brother and sister-in-law, Phillip and Ann Lewis of Minford, Ohio; and four stepchildren. She also leaves many other family members and friends who will sadly miss her.
A memorial service will be at 3:00 p.m. Saturday, February 27, 2016, at Globe Family Funeral Chapel in Garrison with family and friends officiating. Burial will be at a later date.
Friends may visit from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Saturday at Globe Family Funeral Chapel, 103 Dudley Avenue in Garrison.
Condolences may be sent at www.globefc.com.
