Levi Reese

Levi Richardson Reese, Sr., 83, formerly of Morehead City, North Carolina passed away peacefully at the home of his beloved daughter, Penny Reese in Copperas Cove, Texas on Sunday, October 13, 2024. 

A Celebration of Life memorial service to honor Levi’s life will be held on Saturday, October 19th at the 1205 Holden Loop, Copperas Cove, TX. There will also be a North Carolina service held at St. Luke Missionary Baptist Church, 208 N. 13th Street, Morehead City, NC at 11:00 AM on Saturday, 26th of October for local family and friends.

Levi was born on February 22, 1941 in Jacksonville, NC, the second eldest son to the late Isadore Martin Reese and Elsie Tootle Reese.

Hardworking and caring from his youth, as a teenager, Levi helped provide for his mother and his siblings. Levi quickly developed and mastered skills in automobile restoration, cooking, and gardening. His expertise and skills in paint and body were beyond amazing. He could take a vehicle that looked ready for the junkyard and make it look like new. He enjoyed spending time working on his Ford Galaxie which he restored to pristine condition. He was employed at a couple of local body shops and even for a time had his own shop right off of Highway 70 in Morehead City, an achievement for him at that time. He also had awesome cooking skills that was applauded by many and he was quick to teach and to pass on his skills to his children and grandchildren.

Levi loved family, life, travel, classic cars and laughter. He married the former wife Constance Hester in 1960 and together they had six children. He attended W.S. King High School. In his youth, he attended St. Luke Missionary Baptist Church. He lived his young adult life in Morehead City, NC but relocated to the Cameron/Lake Charles area in pursuit of a better way of life for his family. Though life proved difficult at times whether work or relationships, Levi maintained a positive outlook on life. After returning to North Carolina, he met and married the former Patresea Morrow Skinner and became beloved stepfather to Caress, and her sister Cynthia (Cindi).

Levi was preceded in death by his father in 1981, his brother Nathaniel Lemonte Reese (Monty) in 1984, his mother in 2001, his younger brother, Junius Daniel Reese (Junebug), his second wife Patresea in 2003, his sister, Marian Reese James in 2021, his grandson Levi R. Reese III in 2023 and his eldest daughter, Olethea Fay Allen in 2024.

Those remaining to cherish his memory are his two sisters, Brenda Reese Nicholson and her husband Dr. W.S. Nicholson, Sr. of Morehead City NC, and Thelma Teel of Beaufort, NC. His children, Levi R. Reese, Jr of Lake Charles, LA, David N. Reese of Jacksonville, FL, Constance Ellis (Yvonne) and her husband Jeffrey Ellis of Selma, TX, Barbara Reese of Harker Heights, TX, Penny Reese of Copperas Cove, TX. His stepchildren Caress Adams of Pearland, TX and Cynthia (Cindi) Gahan and her husband Kevin Gahan of Menifee, CA, His step brother-in-law Dennis Morrow and his wife Bobbie Morrow of Cleveland, OH and a host of nieces and nephews, 25 grandchildren, 48 great-grandchildren and 4 great-great grandchildren. Along with special friends: Jimmy Minor, Elliot Jones, and John Styles.

As an expression of sympathy, those who would like to send flowers for the Texas area Celebration of Life can be sent to 1205 Holden Loop, Copperas Cove TX (by the 18th October) and for those in the North Carolina area can send flowers to 1403 N. 20th Street Morehead City, NC 28557 (by the 25th)

Arrangements in Copperas Cove, Texas will be by Crawford-Bowers Funeral Home. Family and friends are welcome to submit online condolences at https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/copperas-cove-tx/levi-reese-12026223

Condolences and life tributes may be sent to the family at www.noebrooks.net

Arrangements by Noe-Brooks Funeral Home, Morehead City, NC.