Dr. Mary Elizabeth Reed

Dr. Mary Elizabeth Reed, age 85, went home to be with the Lord on November 8, 2025 and was placed in the care of Hickman-Strunk Funeral Home.

Funeral services were held Tuesday, November 11, 2025 at 1:00 pm at the Lower Hickory Grove Cemetery with Bro. Roger Bryant officiating and burial following.

Mary was born on October 6, 1940, in Revelo, Kentucky, to Millard and Mildred Strunk Reed. She was the beloved granddaughter of Ernest and Ada Crabtree Strunk and Jimmie and Amanda Osborne Reed.

A lifelong educator, Mary graduated from McCreary County High School in 1957 and went on to attend Cumberland College. Over her remarkable fifty-year teaching career, she taught at the elementary, high school, and college levels in Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. She earned her Master’s Degree in Education from Xavier University and later completed her Doctorate in Religious Education at Temple Baptist College in 1995.

Mary shared her passion for learning as an instructor at Miami University, Ohio University, and Temple Baptist College, where she also served as Chair of the Education Department for fifteen years.

In 1958, while at Cumberland College, Mary accepted Christ as her Savior—a decision that shaped the course of her life. She was a faithful member of the local churches in the communities where she lived and taught, most recently North Fairfield Baptist Church in Hamilton, Ohio. Mary was deeply involved in Sunday School teaching, Women’s Ministries, and served as Director of Missions Activities, always eager to encourage others in their faith.

Mary was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Robert Reed. She is survived by her brothers, James Reed and William Reed, her sister, Patricia Goodrich, and numerous nieces and nephews who loved her dearly.

Mary’s life was one of devotion—to God, to education, and to her family and friends. Though she will be deeply missed, her legacy of faith, knowledge, and kindness lives on in the countless lives she touched. May the memories of her love and gentle spirit bring comfort and peace to all who mourn her passing.

Hickman-Strunk Funeral Home was honored to serve the family of Dr. Mary E. Reed.