Cynthia Reardon

Obituary CYNTHIA S. REARDON June 12, 1920April 10,2016 Cynthia Reardon of Sea Level, NC, and formerly long of Durham, died on April 10, 2016 at Snug Harbor on Nelson Bay in Sea Level, NC where she moved in 2011. Mrs. Reardon was born in Bangor, ME on June 12, 1920 to Hollis and Katherine Stanley. The family moved to Melrose, MA when Cynthia was in elementary School. Cynthia graduated from Melrose High School as Valedictorian and went on to get a BA from Boston University where she was Phi Beta Kappa. From 1943 until 1946 she worked in Washington DC for the Bureau of the Budget as a Research Assistant, the War Food Administration as an Administrative Assistant and then as Chief of the Reports and Analysis Section of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. She and her husband Kenneth J. Reardon moved to Durham in 1948. She went to work for the Durham County Chapter of the American Red Cross in 1955 as a caseworker and then became Director of Service to Military Families in 1958. In 1960 she became Executive Director of the Chapter, a position she held until her retirement in 1985. Then in 1994 she agreed to serve as Interim Chapter Manager on an unpaid basis until a new Manager could be found. This lasted for almost a year. The Durham Chapter was greatly expanded during her tenure as Executive Director going from 4 to 16 employees, an operating budget increase from $50,000 to nearly half a million, launching and growing the Red Cross Blood Program, building a new Chapter House, hosting the NC State Convention and the addition of twelve new Red Cross courses taught by volunteers. During this time numerous Durham Red Cross volunteers received local, state and national awards. Many community outreach projects started under her leadership. Cynthia held several state, regional and national positions with the Red Cross both before and after retirement. After retirement she was involved on a volunteer basis as a consultant and troubleshooter for small chapters in Eastern North Carolina helping volunteer leaders enhance service delivery and strengthen volunteer support. She also trained chapter managers. In the Durham community she was a past president of the League of Women Voters, Agency Executive Roundtable and the Durham Health Council. She served on and was chairman of numerous committees for Community Planning services, Coordinating Council for Senior Citizens, Health Planning Council, Emergency Management Agency, and the State Conference for Social Services. She was a member of the Durham Altrusa club for many years and served as Vice President and Treasurer. Cynthia devoted her adult working life and beyond to the American Red Cross giving far greater time and expertise than what she was compensated for monetarily because she believed in the organization and wanted to make it far better than she found it. This spirit of giving spilled over into the Durham Community she had come to love. As she once said she was born and grew up a Yankee but lived most of her adult life in the South and cherished both backgrounds. For the past five years she has been a resident of Snug Harbor on Nelson Bay. Her family would like to thank all of the staff for the exceptional care they provided during all of those years, particularly the staff in the Health Care Center. She is survived by two daughters, Rebecca Tyrrell and her husband Ray of Beaufort, Bonnie Hunter and her husband Chris of Otway, and a son, Michael Reardon of Beaufort. In addition to her parents and her brother Parker Loring Stanley she was preceded in death by her husband Kenneth James Reardon. Per her wishes her ashes will be interred in the family cemetery in Brooklin, ME where she spent many happy summers growing up. A service will be held there later this year. Cynthia Reardon was a contributor to many charities other than the Red Cross so if you want to honor her in any way, she would surely want you to contribute to whatever organization you wish. No Services Are Scheduled Services You can still show your support by sending flowers directly to the family, or by planting a memorial tree in the memory of Cynthia Reardon