Elizabeth Ann Reakes

Elizabeth Ann Reakes, 98, of Rock Island, IL, formerly of Moline, IL, passed away Friday, August 25, 2017, at Friendship Manor Silver Cross Care in Rock Island. Services will be Friday, September 1st, at 2:00 p.m., at Wendt Funeral Home in Moline, with a two-hour visitation prior to the services beginning at 12:00 noon. Interment will be at the Moline Memorial Park Cemetery immediately thereafter. Memorials may be made to the Friendship Manor Silver Cross in Rock Island. Elizabeth Watson was born in Macomb, IL, on December 13, 1918, to Warner Allison and Stella Belle (McMillan) Watson. She was married to John P. Reakes for forty-four years from May 29, 1942 until December of 1986. She attended a one-room schoolhouse on Watson Road in Scotland Township called Crown Point District 50, and then Western Academy through high school. She graduated from Western Illinois State Teachers’ College (now Western Illinois University) with a degree in elementary education. After graduation, and for the rest of her teaching career, she taught (usually third grade) in Virginia, IL; Burlington, IA; Fairbury, IL; Barrington, IL; and finally at Butterworth School in Moline, IL. When able, she attended First Methodist and Aldersgate Methodist churches, which have combined to form Riverside Methodist Church in Moline. Elizabeth was a strong and kind person who did not let bad breaks or hard times slow her down. She fought through adversity and was a great example to her family and friends. She was taught by her mother that if you had two identical items and were going to share one with a friend, you should always give the best one away. That is the way she lived her life. She enjoyed shopping for a bargain, coffee with friends, travel, gardening, cooking, and most of all loved time with family. Those left to honor her memory include her son, Larry (Delma) Reakes of Moline; grandson, Scott (Marcie) Reakes and great-granddaughter, Abigail of Geneseo, IL; granddaughter, Kimberly (Earl) Smith and great-granddaughter, Stella of Manassas, VA; nieces, Connie (Conrad) Deener, and Janine (Mike) Bartling; nephews, John N. (Ruth Ann) Watson, and Dean (Debbie) Watson; and several cousins and many friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, twin sisters who died at birth, Mildred Alice and Marjorie Grace, and her brother and his wife, John D. and Hazel Watson.

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