Obituary of Reba Eva Louise Bacon Lackes

Reba Eva Louise Bacon Lackes, 90 of Moneta, passed away Wednesday, October 19, 2016 at her residence. She was born on Monday, October 18, 1926 in Washington Co., TN, a daughter of the late Oliver Reece Bacon and Opal Alice Baines Bacon. She was also preceded in death by her first husband, William Carl Lane, her second husband, Clyde Russell Lackes & a granddaughter, Vanessa Lane. She is survived by her son, Fred Lane & wife, Mary of Hardy; her daughters, Pamela Sloan & husband, Colen of Bedford, Ginny Barton & husband, Jimmy of Vinton; her grandchildren, Sherry Shockey, Kimberly Painter, Shay McGhee, April Elkins, Chrissy Robertson, many loved great grandchildren; her sister, Helen Elkins of Greenville, SC & special friends, Rosann, Alfred & Jane. The family will receive friends Saturday, October 22, 2016 from 2 until 4 PM at Updike Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Bedford. A Tribute to Mom - written by her son, Fred Lane Reba Bacon, our mother, was born in Fall Branch, Tennessee to Oliver Bacon and Opal Alice Baines. She spent only her first year in the little hamlet before moving to Kingsport, TN where she grew up and married my father, William Carl Lane of Copper Creek (Gate City) Virginia and later, Clyde Russell Lackes of Roanoke, VA. Mom has many recollections of her early life but I will herein cite only a few for brevities sake. Apparently she spent her early years as a test pilot for her brother and my namesake, Fred Bacon. It seems Uncle Fred placed her in situations that he and his associates were uncertain of and observed the results thereof. One incident came to mind that involved her testing the trajectory of a ladder sled down a hill in the snow to ascertain if it was safe for her brother and his henchmen. The results were terrible with Mom receiving lacerations. Another malady occurred when my uncle threw an errant projectile that struck Mom hitting and chipping two front teeth that accompanied her until her permanent teeth replaced those that were temporally altered. Some of her days were spent searching for arrowheads on Long Island Flats in what is now Kingsport, TN. It is historically recorded that this area was a major gathering place for local tribes to meet as well as sacred ground to ancient Indian culture. She was a full time housewife (a very good one at that) her entire life but did work at several jobs for short intervals, among them were women’s hat sales at an upscale store and receptionist for a law firm in Roanoke, VA. Her main contributions were that of Honor Guard (flag bearer) for the Navy Mothers Club where she remained active throughout and after my Naval service. She was given the organizations’ flags upon the dissolution of the club. A lifelong member of the American Red Cross, she studied First Aid and contributed many hours in volunteer service to that organization. To this day she is as much of a patriot as a founding father with a strong allegiance to Flag and Country.