Mrs. Marian T. Reid, 96, Passes Educator, Active In Community & Church

NORFOLK

Mrs. Marian Todd Reid, widow of Dr. Milton A. Reid, former Publisher of the New Journal and Guide from 1974 to 1987, has passed. 

Mrs. Reid, who retired as an elementary school teacher,  reached the 96-year milestone on February 1, 2026. She remained active in the church and community until recent years. After decades of service to both the National Sorority of Phi Delta Kappa, Inc., Gamma Mu Chapter, and the International Association of Ministers Wives and Ministers Widows of Tidewater, she stepped down officially towards the end of 2023. She last served as a Deaconess at First Calvary Baptist Church, Norfolk, where she was a member of her church’s Woman’s Club and Pastor’s Aid Club.

Mrs. Reid taught elementary school in Dinwiddie County and in Norfolk, Virginia. Her very first classroom was in the church parsonage at the historic First Baptist Church of Petersburg; authorities sanctioned her initiative to begin a first-grade class so that her oldest child and other children whose birthdays came after September 1st would not have to wait an entire school year before entering first grade. She taught 31 years before retiring from Norfolk Public Schools in 1991.

Marian Todd Reid was born Windsor, North Carolina where she attended the public schools. She earned her B.S. in Education at Fayetteville State Teachers College where she met her husband-to-be, Milton A. Reid. 

An avid sports fan, in her spare time she enjoyed riding a stationary bike, walking, light exercise, and cheering on her Washington Commanders, San Antonio Spurs, and numerous other teams as long as they are not competing with her favorites. 

She leaves to cherish her memory: daughters Maravia and Michelle, granddaughter Sinja; grandsons “Mike” (Eyo), and Khare, and many nieces and nephews; both from her family of birth and from the family of her late husband, Milton, to whom she was married for 59 years. In recent weeks many cousins from both sides of her family got to know each other as they gathered to visit their dear aunty.