Obituary: Reva Lucille Singley McKinnon 1919 - 2013

Reva Lucille Singley McKinnon was born on October 9, 1919, in the small town of Green City, MO, and died at her home on April 2, 2013, after battling cancer for 3-1/2 years.

She was the oldest living member of her family (next oldest member was her sister, Madeline, who was 2 weeks shy of her 93rd birthday).

Reva’s grandparents started the first hardware store in Green City, MO, and it stayed in the family for 100 years. Reva ran the Greencastle, MO store for a couple of years.

Reva attended elementary school and high school at Green City. She excelled in basketball for four years, played the trombone in the band for four years. After graduation she attended Central Missouri State College at Warrensburg, MO, where she received her BS. Reva began teaching in Greentop, MO.

She received a Wall Street Journalism Fellowship Award from The Newspaper Fund in 1961 and attended the University of Iowa in Journalism. She also taught in Gorin and St. Elizabeth, Missouri; Bloomfield, Iowa; Lyman, Nebraska; and raised two sons while teaching and working on her Masters Degree from Truman College (formerly Northeast Missouri University).

Reva took a teaching position in Whittier, CA in 1963 and taught there for 22 years, retiring in 1986. Reva then began her dream of world travel with her husband Charley, whom she married in July 1, 1972. They traveled to Nova Scotia and Canada, Australia twice, New Zealand, Hawaii twice, and Trinidad & Tobago and went on several cruises.

Reva also traveled to Hong Kong before it was turned over to China. Reva enjoyed making quilts and afghans for the family after she retired.

She moved to Cottonwood, AZ, in 1999. At the age of 92, Reva was bowling on two leagues with an average of 120, down from her earlier average of 148.

Reva was preceded in death by her husband, Charles N. McKinnon; her parents, Walter and Edith Singley; 1 brother and 5 sisters. She is survived by two sons, Rodney (Shonna) Willingham of Camp Verde, AZ; and Gordon (Sheron) Willingham of Pahrump, NV; four grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.

The family would like to thank the Verde Valley.

Community Hospice for their outstanding care and support.

Donations may be made in her name to the Verde Valley Community Hospice Benevolent Fund, 859 Cove Parkway, Suite #103, Cottonwood, AZ 83626.

Information provided by survivors


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