New Cartoon: In Loving Memory of
Melba Ruby Reid (1931-2004)

My grandmother died yesterday. I was originally working on this cartoon as a get-well present, but it became a memorial instead. Here is her obituary, and information about donating in her memory:

Melba Ruby Reid (born Shipman), beloved wife of Gordon Marsh Reid, who predeceased her, passed away on March 23, 2004 after a long struggle with lung disease. She died at home, in the arms of her family.

Melba was born on January 31, 1931. She was born in Pickwick, Hardin county Tennessee and was the daughter of Garland Shipman and Nellie Drue McKinney.

Melba was a veteran of the United States Air Force and served during the Korean Conflict. She worked as a bookkeeper following her discharge from the service, up until the time of her final illness. She was an ardent book lover and knitter, and followed politics with passion.

She is survived by her sister, Nellie Roseman Simmons of Pickwick, Tennessee. She is also survived by her four children and their spouses, Beryl Reid and her husband, Paul Katler of Lowell, Mass., Rebecca Reid and her husband, Robert Coyne of Monument Beach, Mass., Michael Reid and his wife Rosemary Reid of Solon, Maine, and Melinda Reid and her partner Danny Oliver of Solon Maine. She also had seven grandchildren who were the light of her life; Mikhaela Blake Reid, Max Reid Katler, Rob Reid Coyne, Myles Taylor Reid, Cassandra Lynn Reid, Caleigh Lynn Reid-Oliver, and Jesse Daniel Reid- Oliver.

Funeral arrangements are private, as per Melba’s request. Donations may be made in her memory to the American Lung Association-The American Lung Association, 61 Broadway, New York, NY 10006.