Reba Mae (Shults) Marton has received the welcoming embrace of Jesus Christ and reunited with her earthly love of 62 years, Reed James Marton.

Reba was born on May 27, 1935 in Cosby, Tennessee, the first child of Carl Edward Shults and Ruby (McCarter) Shults. Her home was a simple cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains with no plumbing and a separate outhouse. As a child, she fetched well water for cooking and bathing. Her best friend in life, her sister Ann Elizabeth (Dean) was born in 1936, followed by brother, Leo Maurice in 1939. A second brother, Carl Edwin, survived a year until 1941. Following her mother’s death from tuberculosis in 1942, Reba and her sister were sent to Presbyterian Home in Banner Elk, North Carolina, and their brother was adopted by an aunt and uncle. At seven, Reba learned to be independent and act as her sister’s caretaker. Though they were reunited with their father and his new wife a few years later, she was determined to make her own future. When she turned 18, she left home and worked her way through a year of study at Columbia Bible College, before going against her father’s wishes to join the Air Force.

Serving in the Military Air Transport Service as a flight attendant on the C-121 (Lockheed Constellation), she traveled the globe, until she met and fell in love with Second Lieutenant, Reed James Marton in 1957. Like her, he was raised in an orphanage and had made his own way. Married on November 10, 1957, their union lasted until Reed’s passing on October 26, 2020. They raised three sons and a daughter, as well as a grandson in a loving, Christ-centered environment. Children meant everything to them and their home was never without them.

Reba was active in Presbyterian Churches in Germany, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Aransas Pass and Rockport while she was physically able and attended virtually after that. She never stopped studying and taking comfort in the Bible. Reba knew she was saved and looked forward to her heavenly home.

Reba is survived by her children: Reed Jr (Janet), Jeffrey (Karen), Jennifer (now Moza Alkhaldy) (Mohamed), Jason (Nicole), and grandson, Jonathan, as well as grandchildren Jeremy (Ruby), Noah (Rebecca), Rachel (Daryl), Sarah (Aaron), Samantha, Max, Fatma (Saleh), Alanode, Reem, and Roudah; and great grandchildren Dylan, Rianna, Caitlyn, Lucas, Jamie, Nora and Eloise.

A graveside service will be held on Wednesday, September 23, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. at Coastal Bend State Veterans Cemetery.