Reese Autry Collier

After 84 years, Reese Collier of Marietta has finally found peace and rest from his labors on November 25, 2021 at LGH.  Reese was the second son of the late Gordon and Margaret (Foose) Collier of York, PA; husband for the past 34 years to Donna (Hedgepeth) Collier ;  brother to Wayne (Rachel) Collier, Vermont; Jane (Palmer [Doc]) Daughtery, York; and William (Norma) Williams, Mississippi; father to Reese Collier, Jr (Arizona) and Deanna (California); step-father to Joanna Thornton, Delaware; Liane Garner, Columbia and Stephen (Julie) Hedgepeth, Elizabethtown.  He is predeceased by sisters Margie Arnold and Nora Williams.  Grandchildren, great-grandchildren and nieces and nephews abound.

Reese’s employment history began in 1948 after the death of his father.  He and Wayne helped support his widowed mother and two toddler sisters by delivering newspapers, selling shaved ice and working as a pin boy at the local VFW (lost that job to the technology of semi-automatic pin spotters).  In junior high, he worked fulltime as a pressman’s helper at the York Gazette & Daily while going to school.  In his high school years, he worked at Leonard Storage and an electrical supply house.  He worked as a pressman. He was an orderly at the York Hospital in the psychiatric unit (assisting with electric shock treatments) and in maintenance. He got jobs after taking courses at Vo-Tech for refrigeration and accounting.  He took a correspondence course in electrical engineering. He was a Commercial Art student at York Academy of Art.  He learned to be a machinist, working in that field for many years until technology (CNC) and the economy made his skills obsolete.  He then took another Vo-Tech course and became a CNA at St. Anne’s Home for 7 years.  His final change of career was as owner of Time Flys Clock Repair for over 20 years. 

Few things in life didn’t attract his attention.  Books, music and old movies were on his lists of favorite things.  He built his own Folboat. Biking, walking nature trails and the streets of Marietta became a big part of his life as he grew older.  His gregarious nature had him talking to anyone within earshot.  His reading and great memory made his conversations stimulating.  Every day with him was an education.  He took a Dale Carnegie course and someone evaluated him as one of the funniest speakers he’d ever heard.  His humor was contagious and sometimes outlandish.  He’ll be greatly missed by all whose lives he touched.  

A funeral service will be held on Monday, November 29, 2021 at Marietta Community Chapel, 1125 River Road, Marietta, PA 17547 at 2:00 PM. Viewing will be from 1:00 PM until the time of service. Burial will take place in Marietta Cemetery.

Memories and condolences may be shared at www.FinkenbinderFamily.com. Arrangements entrusted to Smedley-Finkenbinder Funeral Home, Marietta.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Reese Autry Collier, please visit our floral store.