(Shared with us by her daughter, Trudy Nye)

Reba Rhodes Nye passed away on Nov. 1, 2012 in Santa Clara, CA. Private family burial services were on Nov. 7 at Skylawn Park, Woodside, CA. See www.cusimanocolonial.com for additional information, donations and to sign the online guest book.

Reba was the loving wife of 66 years to William H. Nye and caring mother to Thomas Nye, Sunnyvale, CA and Trudy Nye, Rohnert Park, CA. Reba was born in Orange, VA, moved to Rainelle, WV as a child, and attended West Va. University where she met Bill. She taught Home Ec in rural areas of WV before marrying Bill in 1946, moving to Philadelphia, PA then to Colma, CA in 1950 and finally settling in Los Altos, CA in 1955. Reba taught middle school Home Ed and Science in WV for 6 years and for an additional 20 years in Mt. View, CA. She was also an active member of the Union Presbyterian Church of Los Altos, American Assoc. of University Women, Calif. Teachers Assoc, and Calif. Retired Teachers Assoc. Over the years, Reba enjoyed sewing, cooking, water and snow skiing (until she was almost 80!), boating all over the west, Canada and Baja, CA, traveling and visiting family in WV, MD, CT, OH and FL. Some treasured memories are of taking the boat to UT, Canada and Baja and living on it for 2-3 weeks; going to family reunions in WV, snow skiing trips to Tahoe, OR and Canada, hiking up Feather River Falls as a family, flying with Trudy all over CA, to Tahoe, Texas, and to Baja CA, Christmas shopping in San Francisco after Trudy returned from college, and traveling to Europe. Friends remember her as loving, kind, generous, organized and a leader.

Donations can be made in Reba’s memory to The Ruckman Heritage Foundation and The National Ataxia Foundation.

Reba was the daughter of Mattie Gertrude Ruckman Rhodes. Her brothers and sisters were Roscoe Oswald, Virginia Othello, Wade Orland (“Punky”), and Freda Odis. Mattie was the daughter of Otho David and Hannah Virginia Hoff Ruckman. Otho David was the son of Otho Wade and Martha Ann McClung Ruckman. Otho Wade was the son of David Little and Priscilla Wade Ruckman. David Little Ruckman is from whom we are all descended.