Pamela Gray Reese

Pam "Moo" Reese died peacefully surrounded by family in Portola Valley, CA on January 18th. She was 80 years young. Pam is survived by her husband, Jack "Bear" Reese; her children (and spouses) Corby (Lexi), Eliza (Matt), Davey (Rachel) and their families, including Pam's six grandchildren; Pam's brother, Towny Gray and his wife Lynn, and Pam's sister, Phyllis Heaton, as well as many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her sister, Alice Standteiner.

Pam was vibrant in personality and approach to life. Her favorite color was bright red, and she could often be found wearing every variety of Patagonia in that color as she skied, biked, hiked, played golf, tennis, pickleball - or any other sport people were up for. She loved sharing adventures with others and frequently gathered people for outdoor experiences and "your basic" meal. And if you were not physically there, she would regale you by text or email with pictures and adjective / emoji filled missives about what she saw and felt along the way.

Pam had a few life lessons that she lived by and impressed on those around her.

* Be kind and inclusive or, in her words "don't be cliquey." Always include others. Moo always greeted people with enthusiastic, genuine happiness to see them.

* Get out and make things happen, particularly in nature. Don't "be a bump on a log" or wait to be asked. Make your own fun. Moo absolutely loved the mountains in any season, wildflowers and - most of all - cows. She famously announced to the Ben and Jerry's employees when her kids were in their awkward teen years, "We're a cow family!"

* Being on top of the mountain in life isn't always the be all and end all. If you look around, it's pretty dry and barren up there. However, it's when you're in the valleys of life where it's green and lush that you grow the most as a person.

* Show up for the people you love - family and friends alike. Moo rarely missed a game or an event featuring her kids or grandkids. As recently as six days before she passed, she went to a volleyball tournament for Corby's youngest daughter and could be heard cheering loudly in the din of a crowded gym.

* Be open and communicate. Moo shared everything - good and bad - and encouraged everyone else to do the same. She listened and loved without judgment and instilled that in all who had the privilege to know her, from the cashiers at her beloved Roberts grocery store, to her closest family members.

Pamela Audrey Gray (Reese) was born February 2nd, 1943 to Austen Townsend and Beatrice Dorothy Gray. She was raised on Long Island, New York. She attended Greenvale School (Greenvale, NY), Madeira School (Greenway, VA) and Bradford Junior College (Bradford, MA). After college, she worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the American Wing. She was a lifelong volunteer - as an ever-present team or classroom mom (and grandmom) and a guide at the Bronx Zoo. Her favorite work was running the Snowshoe Competition over many years for the Special Olympics of New Hampshire & Vermont where she happily showed up in below zero temperatures. She was also a lifelong learner - taking classes at Dartmouth with Jack and participating in a U.N. Study group.

In 1969 she married John Corbit Reese (Jack). Together they had three children, timed almost exactly with the children of Jack's sister, Patty Reese Vanderwarker. Together, the Reeses and the Vanderwarkers raised their kids alongside each other in New Canaan, Connecticut and West Chop, Massachusetts. In 2003, Pam and Jack moved to Quechee, Vermont, where they absolutely dominated the outdoor scene. They organized a group of 20 friends to meet at 9:30am at Okemo Mountain "RTS" (ready to ski) and were active in the Green Mountain Club. In 2018, Pam and Jack moved to California, very near their sons, Corby and Davey, and loved being part of The Sequoias living community where they quickly became the literal poster-couple for marketing materials and leading fixtures: helping to organize hikes, croquet, dinners and more.

Pam has been a central figure in the community she adored most of all - West Chop, Martha's Vineyard - where she spent every summer for the last 54 years. Pam's moviestar smile and cheerful "Hiiiiiii" greeted so many passersby as she buzzed around the Chop, often taking care to make sure everyone knew each other and felt welcome. She is the force behind the pickleball craze and of course the eponymous Reese Cup. She loved every Sunday Service (always seated in the front row), Windows on the World, tournaments of any kind, swims off Little Pier and porch dinners surrounded by those she loved.

Pam lives on in the love she so carefully stitched among her large, extended tribe of family and friends. As her granddaughter said, "there will always be a room with red and cows in my heart, this room is dedicated to you." Moo lives on everytime people choose to be kind, inclusive, stewards of nature, and unconditionally supportive. They say that people die twice: first when they leave the earth and second when they are forgotten. Fortunately for all of us, Moo could never possibly be forgotten.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be sent to The Nature Conservancy, attention Treasury, 4245 North Fairfax Drive, Suite 100, Arlington VA 22209, in memory of Pam Reese. Or you can simply take a walk in nature and think of your best Moo memory.

"Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean."

"The mountains are calling, and I must go."

- John Muir