Reba C. Hyman

Reba C. Hyman 94, passed away Friday February 15, 2008, with her loving nieces Patty Knoch and Judy Staley at her side. She was retired. Her last four years were spent being a loving aunt and great aunt to her family in Visalia. Reba was born March 30, 1913 at the family dairy near Hanford, CA. She graduated from Visalia Union High School in 1931 and received her AA degree from the College of the Sequoias in 1933. Upon graduation she was employed by the law firm of Farnsworth, Burke and Maddox as a legal secretary for three years. As a favor to Mrs. Burke, Reba transported her husband's law books to the San Francisco firm of Pillsbury, Madison and Sutro in San Francisco, who immediately offered her a job as a legal secretary. She relocated to San Francisco and remained employed with them until 1937 to work for Chishering & Gregory in SF until retiring in 1939 to assist her husband Dr. Edwin J. Hyman with his dental practice. Mrs. Hyman was a past president of the Visalia Business & Professional Women's Club, past secretary of Tulare-Kings Counties Civic Music Association, past president of the San Francisco Dental Society Women's Auxiliary, and past director of the Women's City Club. She volunteered for the state department escorting foreign guests to various places in the Bay Area including Muir Woods, Stanford, Berkeley, and the Frank Lloyd Wright Civic Center to name a few. She also worked on Robert F. Kennedy's bid for the presidency having met with him and Ethel Kennedy prior to his death. She was a supporter of the SF Zoological Society, the SF Humane Society, the DeJong museum, the Opera, Symphony and the UCSF Dental School. She met the love of her life Dr. Edwin J. Hyman in 1942 and they married August 5, 1942 and remained together 55 years until his death in 1998. Together they supported the arts and traveled the world. After his death she continued to reside in San Francisco until 2003 when her nieces persuaded her to move to Visalia to be with the family. The last few years she enjoyed being close to her family and participating in her two great nephews school activities. Survivors include her brother-in-law Bruce Knoch; niece, Patty Knoch; niece, Judy Staley, husband Fred Staley and great nephews Bruce and Jeff Staley all of Visalia. She is also survived by nephew, M.M. Costa III, his wife Lynn, great nephew, M.M. Costa IV; niece, Charlotte Haines of Tigard, OR, great niece, Melissa Haines and great nephew, David Haines of Boston, MA. She also has a great, great niece and nephew. She was preceded in death by her husband Edwin J. Hyman DDS; her parents Manuel V. and Rosa Cardozo; sisters Alice Knoch, Mary Wolfe, and Olinda Costa. Per Reba's wishes services are to be private for immediate family. Memorials may be made to the St. Mary's Catholic Church Building Fund, 608 N. Church St., Visalia, CA 93292 for the sanctuary in gratitude for the loving kindness given to her by Bill Whitlatch during the four years she resided at Quail Park or the donor's favorite charity. Under the direction of Miller Memorial Chapel, Visalia.