Mrs. Verma Ruth Fortenberry Reese, 63, died Saturday January 23, 2016 at St. Michael’s Hospital in Newark, NJ. Services for Mrs. Reese were held on Monday February 1, 2016 at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Prentiss, with Wyman Mobley officiating. Interment was in the Barnes (Kingdom Hall’s) Cemetery, with Laird Mortuary in charge of all arrangements.

Mrs. Reese was the daughter of the late Thomas Fortenberry and the late Roxanna Fortenberry in Newark, NJ. At an early age she was baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses and graduated from Arts High School in Newark, NJ. In 1969 she married the late Johnny Reese of Prentiss, and to this union three sons were added. Mrs. Reese spent much of her life in Mississippi as a librarian at the Prentiss Library. Mrs. Reese was a member of the New Jersey Foundation for the blind, and her hobbies included crocheting and cooking.

Mrs. Reese’s survivors include three sons, Lamont (Annie) Fortenberry of Hattiesburg, Aubrey (Vicky) Reese of Prentiss, and Jermaine (Kimberly) Reese of Prentiss; three sisters Janice Brisco, Zena (Tony) Gurley, and Rita (Richard) Fortenberry, all of Newark, NJ; one brother, Avery (Cynthia) Fortenberry of Oakvale; eight step-children; ten grandchildren; and a number of other relatives and friends.