Mary Frances (Tune) Reeder-Lusk
Mary Frances (Tune) Reeder-Lusk, was born to Thomas Payne and Mary Gertrude (Turney) Tune on October 29, 1927 in Mesilla Park, NM. Surrounded by family and friends, Mary died Sunday, September 17, 2017 in Albuquerque, NM, one month shy of age 90. She was a NM resident all of her life except for 15 years in CA, NC, OK, and TX. Mary was the much-loved mother of sons, W. David Fuller (wife, Joanne) of Santa Fe, NM, Frank N. Reeder Jr. (wife, Vicki) of Westmoreland, NH, Scott T. Reeder, (wife, Irma) of Albuquerque, NM; daughter-in-law, Teresa Reeder of Corpus Christi, TX; and the late D. Keith Fuller Jr. of Albuquerque, NM. Mary cherished 11 grandchildren (one deceased) and six great grandchildren. Mary was sister to George P. Tune (wife, Margaret) of Las Cruces, NM, and deceased siblings, Thomas T., Bessie "Betty" L., Martha A., and Charles T. Tune. Mary was preceded in death by husbands, Dale K. Fuller Sr., Frank N. Reeder Sr., John Perea, and Charles N. Lusk. With Frank, she owned and operated Designs for Dining furniture business in Albuquerque from 1979 into the 1980s. Mary volunteered as a room mother and school Library Assistant when her children were young, and did church work for much of her life. She deeply loved and supported her children, work colleagues, and friends, and was one of those special people that never met a stranger.
Mary won a full journalism scholarship straight out of high school (Sherman, TX), but turned it down as she was determined to become a Registered Nurse. She had worked several years at a hospital prior to high school graduation in 1945. She then studied pre-nursing sciences one semester at the Southwest Institute of Technology in Weatherford, TX, prior to acceptance in the accelerated WWII US Army Cadet Nurse Corps. In 1948, one week before her 21st birthday, she received her R.N. from the Mercy Hospital School of Nursing, Oklahoma City, OK. The drawdown after the war resulted in Mary not receiving her commission. Following a job at her alma mater, she returned to NM in 1949. Mary worked at numerous healthcare facilities in various fields. In 1952, Mary was the first nurse hired at Bataan Memorial Methodist Hospital when it opened (aka Lovelace), hiring the Director of Nurses and establishing nursing policy. She worked directly with Dr. Lovelace and the Mercury 7 astronauts. She was the first respiratory therapist in NM under Dr. Roy F. Goddard who invented the GBL Infant Resuscitator in the 1950s which is credited with saving thousands of newborns. She was hired in 1988 by HealthSouth Rehab Hospital prior to opening to assist with establishing policies and procedures. In 1991, she was the first nurse in NM to obtain a Certified Rehabilitation Registered Nurse (CRRN) credential. Other employments included the AT&SF Railroad Hospital, St Josephs, Nazareth, Simmons Nursing Service, Memorial, Camino Vista, UNMH, Alpha Nurses of NM, Los Palomas, and Manzano del Sol. As Quality Assurance Director, Mary retired in 2010 at the age of 83 from the Los Lunas Community Program (LLCP), Developmental Disabled Supports Division (DDSD), State of NM Department of Health. Her personal papers contain many letters of recognition for performance, patient care, teaching, and mentoring.
Mary’s other love was genealogy. She served as President of the NM Genealogical Society, was Assistant Editor of their first issue of The NM Genealogist periodical in 1962, and was Editor and Chief Publisher several years thereafter. Mary published approximately 44 volumes of her own periodicals beginning in 1963. Her Linkage for Ancestral Research is in libraries throughout the US. In 1969, she was awarded the Augustan Medal, an international award for outstanding contributions in the field of genealogy and heraldry. Mary was the primary force in founding the Albuquerque Genealogical Society (AGS) in 1972, serving as its first President and holding many offices as recently as 1994. She served as Editor for the AGS Quarterly. Mary spearheaded the initial genealogy book collection which evolved into the ABQ-BERNCO Public Library Genealogy Center, a premier research resource in the Southwest with over 34,000 volumes today. She taught genealogy for five decades through these societies, UNM Continuing Education, schools, patriotic organizations, and social clubs. Mary was a member of many historical societ- ies, consulted, and volunteered for the Friends for the Albuquerque Public Library. She revised bylaws of several organizations including the NM Nurses Association where she also served as Parliamentarian for their 1978 annual convention. Mary continued to research genealogy for family and friends to her last days.
A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, October 21, 11:00 a.m. at FRENCH-Lomas. Please visit our online guestbook for Mary at www.frenchfunerals.com