Nina Jean (Tolley) Reese

Nina Tolley Reese, 96, was born in Nashville, TN on September 29, 1930. Weighing in at about 2 lbs., she was the smallest baby to have survived at St. Thomas Hospital up to that time, and that’s how she acquired her childhood nickname “Peanut”. Because her father was a county agricultural agent with UT, her family moved frequently, so she grew up in Waverly, Dayton, and Lynchburg, TN. “Nina Jean” as she was known then, enjoyed small town life and loved to tell stories about growing up in each of those places.

Nina graduated from Moore County High School in Lynchburg, TN where she lettered in basketball. She went on to graduate from UT, Knoxville, as a physical education major. There she also met the love of her life, John Reese, at a Delta Zeta event, when she was serving as chapter president. She jokes that they were married in the Lynchburg Methodist Church by a Baptist minister, and were mixed up from then on! After teaching PE and coaching girls’ basketball for a year in Farragut, she settled into office management in the UT health system in Knoxville.

Eventually John’s job moved them to Chattanooga, where their daughter, Vicki, was born. They reared her in Simsbury, Connecticut and later back in Chattanooga, where Nina worked as an optometric assistant for Dr. Clayton Rhodes. When John’s job as a plant manager for TVA took them to Clarksville, TN, Nina used her business skills and her passion for knitting and crocheting to open “The Yarn Barn”, a small business in which she took great pride.

After John retired, they moved back to Chattanooga where Nina continued to pursue her many interests. She loved dogs, particularly Chihuahuas, growing houseplants, watching the Lady Vols college basketball and UT Vols football, traveling (including the United States, Europe, and Egypt), “antiquing”, and reading, particularly the books with “mystery and history” themes. Her interests led her into volunteering at the Collegedale Library and crocheting with the Together Knits Guild to supply lap robes for veterans and beanie caps for hospital preemies. She had an eye for details, so being a “mystery shopper” for a local hardware chain was one of her favorite part-time jobs during the period before all the “customer satisfaction online surveys” existed. She fondly referred to it as her “spy” job. She also became a proud cancer survivor.

Nina and John were fortunate to celebrate their 65 th wedding anniversary in June 2017 before his sudden passing in October of 2017. Nina went to her heavenly home on Thursday, October 29, 2026. Her family includes her daughter, Vicki, and son-in-law, Don Sewell. She also has two granddaughters, Sarah (Cary) Pierce and Katie (Carl) Barnhill, and three lively great-grandsons, Jacob, Evan, and Wesley. She is grateful to God and his son, Jesus, for her long, blessed life.

Faithful friends included Margo Tricoglou, Ruth and Beth Williams, and the ladies of Savannah Methodist Church. Special appreciation goes to the dedicated staff of Life Care of Collegedale, her home for the last six years.

The family will receive friends on Saturday, November 7 from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. at Chattanooga Funeral Home, Valley View, 7414 Old Lee Highway, Chattanooga, Tennessee, 37421. A graveside service will follow at 2 p.m. at Chattanooga Memorial Park, 501 Memorial Drive, Chattanooga, Tennessee, 37415, with Pastor Jim Tricoglou officiating. Memorial contributions may be made to the William M. Tolley Scholarship, 318 Hall-Moody Administration Building, 554 University Street, Martin, TN 38238; or the pet placement center of your choice.

Please share your memories online at www.ChattanoogaValleyViewChapel.com Arrangements by Chattanooga Funeral Home, Crematory & Florist, Valley View Chapel, 7414 Old Lee Highway, Chattanooga, Tennessee 37421.