Reba Virginia (Powers) Parmenter, age 88, a resident for the past 50 years, died peacefully on Tuesday afternoon, December 13, 2011, at the Wayland Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.
Born in Tiny, Virginia, on September 2, 1923, she was the youngest of nine children born to the late Floyd and Aily (Sutherland) Powers. Reba was a graduate of the Tiny Public Schools and continued her education at an area business school. While working as a secretary in a government office she met Army Major Edward D. Parmenter. They married and lived for a brief time in Georgia prior to settling in Natick.
Reba was employed for many years in the Comptroller’s Office at the Natick Labs and was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star Aurora Chapter #9. The family enjoyed summers in Bourne and after retirement, Reba and Ed spent Februaries on the island of Oahu. Happiest when sharing time with her family and grandchildren, Reba was also fond of travel and perusing cookbooks.
Predeceased by her husband in 1989 and their daughter Cheri in 1998, she is survived by two daughters, Karen L. Parmenter and husband Robert Rafuse, II of Natick, and Nancy P. Dale of Framingham; three grandchildren, Mackenzie, Christopher, and Stacey; and a niece, MaryAlice Parker of Maine.
Family and friends may visit with the family at John Everett & Sons Funeral Home, 4 Park Street (at Natick Common) Natick, on Friday, Dec. 16th from 3 -6p.m., with words of remembrance at 5:30.
Memorial gifts may be made in Reba’s memory to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, 60 East 56th Street, 8th Floor, NY, NY 10022.