Ferne Adelia (Tillman) Reeves, 90, died in Tulsa on August 20, 2009. Ferne was born in Wichita Falls, TX on June 30, 1919, to Forrest and Wavie Adelia (Bowman) Tillman. She married Harold Eugene Reeves January 1, 1939. They had 3 children, sons, Forrest Eugene and Stephen Craig, and daughter, Cynthia Ann. She was a devoted wife and mother who loved and supported her husband and children in everything they did throughout their lives. She was a talented artist in pastels, oil and acrylic painting, as well as china painting. Ferne developed broad and diverse friendships through a variety of shared activities such as church, bridge, copper crafts, china painting, garage sales, and coupon exchanges. She was always ready with a good joke to entertain and had a great sense of humor and a wonderful attitude toward life in general. After her family and friends, her greatest passion was duplicate bridge in which she was quite accomplished. She earned her Silver Life Master rank which required significant tournament playing time, and she genuinely loved the challenge and competition involved. She was preceded in death by: her parents; a brother, Lester; a sister, Evelyn; her husband of nearly 55 years, Harold; and very recently, her daughter, Cyndi. She is survived by: brother, Donald and wife Irene of Oologah; son, Gene and wife Marcia of Tulsa, and son, Steve of Jefferson City, MO; grandson, Jason Craig and wife Karilynn and great-grandson, Zachary Craig of Olathe, KS, and grandson, Daniel Brian of San Francisco, CA; her daughter's long-time partner Debbi Schaumburg; her special aunt, Juanita of Lawton, OK; and numerous nieces, nephews whom she loved dearly. Viewing will be all day Tuesday, August 25, with family visitation from 6-8 p.m. and the funeral service will be at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, August 26, at Moore's Southlawn Chapel. Interment will be at Floral Haven Cemetery Mausoleum following the service.
Tulsa World
Aug. 25, 2009