Martha Alean Reeder

Growing up on her family’s farm in Tennessee, Alean enjoyed attending school, playing sports, and driving her sisters into town in the family pickup truck. In 1958, she married the love of her life, Alfred “Al” Reeder, who returned to Barnes Ridge for his “little red-headed girl.” She was proud of her work ethic, and earned praise from her employers at the shirt factory where she worked while Al was in school. Then, in 1959, she brought her first son, Ricky, into the world. She moved with Al wherever his work took them, first to Robins Air Force Base in 1961, and then to Huntsville, Alabama, in 1962, where her second son, Timothy, was born. Alean loved her boys and often fondly recalled their passion for the outdoors and the menagerie of wildlife the boys would often bring home. These boys grew, married, and Alean became Grandma to four grandchildren. She was devoted to them, gladly driving from Huntsville to Athens for many years to bring them home from school and listen to them share their days with her. Holidays and Sundays saw the families gathered in Al and Alean’s home, where Alean’s talent for cooking was celebrated and relished. Alean was fun-loving woman, and she took great pleasure in telling jokes, teaching her grandchildren songs to make them laugh, and playing pranks on her family. But she was also generous with her time and resources, never hesitating to visit and care for the sick and those in need, within her own family, but also in the Church and the community.

While the laughter, stories, and kindness Alean brought into the world will be missed, her memory will live on in those she loved and who loved her, and all who benefited from witnessing her godly example. This legacy of love and giving and devotion to her family and friends is her greatest memorial, and will live on in the minds and hearts of those who knew and loved her: her brother Aaron and sister Lura; her two sons and their wives, Ricky and Peggy and Timothy and Jana Reeder; four grandchildren and their spouses, Hannah and Jason Eissler, Rebekah Reeder and Trent Dutton, Jonathan and Kate Reeder, and Brian Stowers; and her great-granddaughter, Abigail Reeder Dutton, as well as many nieces, nephews, and cousins. She is preceded in death by parents William and Ada Johnson, sisters Christine “Tootsie”, Dean, and Janice; and brothers Welmer, Benny, and Ed.

A visitation for Martha will be held Thursday, March 14, 2024 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM at Valhalla Funeral Home & Memory Gardens, 698 Winchester Rd NE, Huntsville, Alabama 35811, followed by a celebration of life service at 3:00 PM.