A wonderful thing happened on the 18th of January when Sally Reese was at last called to stand in the presence of her Lord and Savior and was reunited with her husband, Rick, something she had looked forward to for 7 years.

Sally was born the middle child to Donald C. Myers and his wife, Gean Hill Myers on December 15, 1950 in Canton, OH. She lived an unremarkable 1950s childhood until a few days after her 11th birthday when her 40-year old father suddenly died of a heart attack. At that moment, her childhood innocence was lost and her life changed forever.

Her mother, now a 35-year old widow with 3 children, moved to her hometown, Hamilton, OH to be closer to her parents, James and Mabel Hill. Sally was very close to her grandmother who gave love and support unconditionally to all 3 grandchildren, but this love was especially needed by Sally.

Despite getting married between her junior and senior years of high school, Sally was proud to graduate from high school with her class of 1969, and also went on to earn her Bachelor of Science in Education from Miami University in Oxford, OH in 1974. She was equally proud to earn a Master of Education in 1976. During her undergraduate college years, Sally's two sons from her first marriage were born: Todd in December of 1969 and Matthew in September of 1971.

Sally taught English, Speech and Debate for high school and junior high school for 9 years. It was during this time that her third child from her second marriage was born: Alexa in November of 1979. Sally left teaching for jobs in the business world. This decision was something she deeply regretted in her later years. She often said that teaching students to better use and appreciate English was more important and rewarding than any other job she ever held. As a child of the 1960s, she felt the need to make some sort of a positive difference in the world, and in teaching, she did.

After settling in Springfield, Missouri, Sally met the true love of her life in 1990. Rick Reese was a man she might not have had the good sense to appreciate in her younger years. Rick was Sally's opposite in many ways, but that served to complement her areas of strength and bolster her weak points. They were married in 1992 and were blessed in many ways during their 20 year marriage.  Rick passed away one November night in 2012.

After Rick's passing, Sally's health deteriorated. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and beat the disease, but it returned suddenly in spring of 2019 and eventually took her life. In spite of the health issues, Sally continued to care for her animal family, a mishmash of dogs and cats that had wandered in over the years. In the last year of her life, she acquired her pride and joy, an Arabian horse, Lucky, that she enjoyed riding and spoiling. Sally loved all animals and wasn't above stopping to move a turtle out of the road.

Sally leaves two remaining children: Todd Turner of Springfield, MO and Alexa Turner Dickson of O'Fallon MO. Her second son Matthew preceded her in death in March of 2016. She leaves three stepchildren: Chris Reese and his wife Lynna, of Nixa, MO, Eric Reese and his wife Stacy, of Ozark, MO and Jamie Reese of Ozark, MO. She leaves 9 beautiful and talented grandchildren ranging in ages from 3 to 21. She leaves a sister, Donna Hallin and her husband Ed of Scottville, MI and a brother, Jim Myers and his wife Jenny of Hamilton, OH.

Visitation will be held at 10:00 AM on Monday, January 20, 2020 at Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home, followed by a Funeral Service at 11:00 AM. Sally will be interred beside her husband, Rick, in Copening Hill Cemetery in Niangua MO.

In place of flowers, Sally requested that you donate to the local animal shelter of your choice, or better yet, go to that shelter and adopt an animal...you can name it Sally, if you want!