MARSHA LAVINA REES
Marsha Lavina Rees, 82 years old, passed away on October 28, 2021, in Las Vegas, Nevada. She was a Las Vegas resident for over 60 years. She was preceded in death by her husband, Merl C.
Rees, after 45 years of marriage.
Marsha was born on March 28, 1939, in Los Angeles, California. After a family
stay in Conneaut, Ohio, she returned to Whittier, California, in 1951. She graduated from California High School in 1957 and after she attended Cerritos Junior College, she moved to Las Vegas in 1961, to work and live at the Nevada Test for Reynolds Electrical Engineering Co., Inc. (REECO). She left there when she married her husband in 1970 and then went to work at the Nevada State Welfare Division for 16 years as a Quality Control
Specialist until she retired in 1988. Marsha was preceded in death by both her parents, Wynder Wade and Josephine Virginia (Belding) Shelton. Also preceding her in death were her two brothers, George D. Shelton of Costa Mesa, California, and David F. Shelton of Brooklyn, New York; a niece, Lee Ann Shelton, and a nephew, John David Shelton, both of California. Marsha was a registered member of the First Baptist Church of Las Vegas, The Las Vegas Women’s Golf Assoc., the Stallion Mtn. Golf and Country Club, and the YM(W)CA. She was also a member of the Breast Cancer Coalition and a lifetime member with the Nevada Animal Society. She also paid tribute to the So. Nevada Zoological Park in Las Vegas and was a UNLV Athletic Scholarship Sponsor. She has contributed to the UNLV Library and UNR Medical College in Reno, and her many other charities. She loved the outdoors, hunting and fishing with her husband and their trips to Hawaii, and they loved to cruise. They traveled worldwide and enjoyed new and different places and made lots of new friends. Marsha was a breast cancer survivor and felt blessed many times over. She is survived by her four nieces: Charlene (Alan) Eisner of Oregon, Rosalyn Koskin of Nevada, Jennifer Shelton Armstrong of California, Kimberly Harris of Florida. She is also survived by her second family, a son, Steve Rees of Henderson, and a daughter Sue Ceccacci (Ralph) of Bend, Oregon. Finally, she leaves a future legacy of seven step-grandchildren, six stepstep-grand-children, seven great nieces and nephews, and three great-great nieces and nephews. She is also survived by her extended family, niece Shell Whittington (Jeff Winders), nephew Bill Whittington (Kathy) and brother, Norman Rees, and their families. Marsha was a loving and devoted wife, helpmate; loyal friend to many; aunt and grandmother who touched and influenced many lives with her positive, courageous, and caring nature. She will be missed always. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the National Breast Cancer Coalition, American Breast Cancer Foundation, the Children’s Wish Foundation, and because of her love for animals, the Nevada SPCA or any local animal shelters. Visiting will be at 8:00 to 10:00 am, the funeral service will be at 10:00 am, and the burial at 11:00 am on Monday, 11/8/21, at Palm Downtown Mortuary, 1325 N. Main St., Las Vegas, Nevada.