Deborah Fay Reese

She is survived by her husband of 57 years, Gaylord Patrick Reese; two sons, Travis Reese and Eric Reese; six grandchildren and two great grandchildren; and three brothers, Randy Hesser, Danny Hesser, and Corey Hesser.

Deborah was the third child of Harvey and Birdie Fay Hesser of Pawhuska, OK. Harvey was an Army officer during Deborah’s early years and was stationed in Europe and the United State. After graduating from high school in 1966, Deborah eventually went to study in Memphis, TN. There she met her husband Patrick in 1968 while he was in training as a U.S. Marine in Millington, TN for aviation maintenance. They married in January of 1969.

Deborah and Patrick forged a life together while Patrick stayed in the Marine Corps until 1988. They had their two sons, Travis and Eric who were born at Camp Lejeune, NC and Iwakuni, Japan respectively. Eventually the family settled in Lake Elsinore, CA in 1979, where they had their home until 1991, with a brief move to Hawaii from 1984-1987. Patrick and Deborah moved to Irvine, CA and remained there until 2018 when they finally moved to Fredericksburg, VA after Patrick’s retirement from Boeing aircraft company.

As military spouses do, Deborah held many jobs, working for several years in the Lake Elsinore elementary school system as a classroom aide and school nurse assistant. Eventually she transitioned to full-time homemaker and doting grandmother to her sweet grandchildren Aleq, Katie, Jack, Lilly, Emma, and Sam and great-grandchildren Matrim and Alice. She was endlessly curious and remained a lifelong learner on any and every topic. She loved campy movies and Hollywood classics. She was known for her lovely soprano voice which she used to grace her home and church choirs alike. She was active in her community and church until eventually her health concerns prevented regular participation.

A graveside service will be held in the National Memorial Cemetery at Quantico on Friday, February 6, 2026 at 12:30pm. For those unable to attend, the committal ceremony will be livestreamed at a link TBD. Schedules for the services and confirmation may be found here: https://www.cem.va.gov/dailyburialschedule/. Address for the cemetery is 18424 Joplin Rd, Triangle, VA 22172.

A memorial service will be held on February 6 at 3:00pm and will continue until 6:30pm. The memorial will be located at 8 Yorktown Drive, Fredericksburg, VA. 22405. Memorial remarks will be made by the family from 3:00-3:20pm. After that friends and family are encouraged to have refreshments, mingle, and share memories of Deborah with each other.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in her name to the Fairy Godmother Project. Details on how to donate may be found here: https://www.fairygodmotherproject.org/

Online condolences may be posted on Deborah’s obituary page at www.mullinsthompsonfredericksburg.com