Letty Kathleen Eckensberger Reeder

Letty Kathleen Eckensberger Reeder was born March 9, 1924 in Cementon, Pennsylvania to William Henry Eckensberger and Hilda Rebecca Gruver Eckensberger. She died on August 3, 2018 in Logan, Utah from causes incident to age.
From her earliest years, music was a part of who she was. Letty played the piano both with written music and by ear. She was the salutatorian of her graduating class at Whitehall High School. She started college at West Chester State Teachers College in the fall semester of 1941, a place she had dreamed of matriculating since she was in the 8th grade. On December 7, 1941, with the bombing of Pearl Harbor, her entire college experience changed. Most of the young men soon left for war. Letty graduated with a degree in music education in 1945 and took a job teaching near Philadelphia.
While teaching in the AvonGrove School District, she met William Woodland Reeder on a blind date. He had recently returned from serving in the US Army in Europe to resume his PhD program at Cornell. While visiting friends in Pennsylvania, they set him up with the lovely young music teacher so they could all attend a dance at the DuPont Country Club. Letty was quite taken with this Army captain and, after several more visits to PA and more dancing together he visited her home town and proposed. They were married on June 29, 1947 in the Muhlenberg College Chapel, just 15 days after getting engaged. They were sealed in the Logan Temple in August 1950, after Letty’s conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Letty and Bill briefly lived in State College, Pennsylvania, while Bill was on the faculty at Penn State, prior to his accepting an appointment at his alma mater, Cornell University, to teach Rural Sociology. The Reeder family lived in Ithaca for 30 years. During that time, they added four children to their family and were leaders in the church and the community. Letty taught piano lessons to several generations of children; substitute taught for music teachers all over the Ithaca School District – she was particularly popular with junior high students, who loved her long dresses and funky glasses; participated in the Ithaca Music Club; served as president of Cornell’s Ag Circle; played the piano for the annual New York State 4H conferences; served in the Eastern States Mission YW presidency, Branch and Ward Relief Society and Primary presidencies; had every music calling imaginable; and was the Stake YW President of the Ithaca New York Stake for eight years. She loved working with the young women and they loved her. She famously bought a pair of pants to wear to Girls Camp, formerly sticking to only skirts and dresses, and cheerfully let the girls prank her at Girls Camp, including running her oft-misplaced glasses up the flag pole.
Letty delighted her family, friends, and even strangers with her incredible abilities on the piano. She could play songs by ear, even when she didn’t really know them. Just hum a few notes and off she’d go! She also composed music, both by request and as she felt inspired. She wrote the mission song for the Cumorah Mission, “Cumorah, Land of Restoration,” and a song for the 100th anniversary of the founding of Cornell University, “Go Forth, Cornellians,” as well as a musical setting to the 4th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants, and numerous children’s songs. She played romantic accompaniment, by ear, for the wedding luncheons or dinners of all of her married grandchildren, the most recent at the age of 90.
In 1978, following Bill’s retirement, the Reeders relocated to Logan, Utah, where Bill had gotten his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Letty got involved again and got a second teaching certificate, this time in elementary education. She loved learning. She continued to teach piano lessons, notching up more than 50 years of sharing her love of the piano with young people. She worked in both Primary and music callings, once again, and started a cultural arts festival in her ward. She was actively interested in improving the places she lived and the world she lived in. That was manifest in such things as her working to get increased bus service in Logan and giving feedback to companies about the products they produced. She was well known in the family for using the 800 numbers on the sides of packages to let companies know how they were doing.
Letty was well-known for her glowing smile, ready laugh, and kind words. She was famous for telling her children, “Just think of all of the fun you’d miss if I weren’t so strange.” Her grandchildren all knew that they either belonged in Hollywood or on the cover of a magazine – Grandmother told them! She recently had a hospice nurse laughing, when she declared that she was still madly in love with Bill, more than 71 years after they married. The nurse said, “He must be one heck of a guy.” Letty quickly replied, “Actually, I’m one heck of a gal!”
Letty is survived by her brother, William Henry Eckensberger, Jr., Whitehall, PA; children: Claudia (Steven) Walters, William Douglas Reeder, Kimberly Kemp (Don) Montierth, and her son-in-law, Richard Hess; her grandchildren: Brian (Amelia) Walters, Wendy (Don) Greenley, Lianne (Aaron) Franklin, Gregory (Julie) Walters, Kourtney (Nathan) Taylor, Kathryn (Chad) Buxton, Victoria (Jeff) Wade, Kirsten (Jeff) Dickamore, Klarissa Kemp, 9 bonus grandchildren from Kathleen’s and Kimberly’s marriages; 32 ½ great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, William Reeder; her daughter, Kathleen Hess; and her son-in-law, Christian Kemp.
A viewing will be held from 6 pm to 8 pm on Sunday, August 19, 2018 at the Allen-Hall Mortuary, 34 E. Center Street, Logan. A viewing and funeral will be on Monday, August 20, 2018 at the Lundstrom Park 1st Ward Building, 1260 N. 1600 E., Logan. The viewing will be from 9:30 to 10:30 am; the funeral services will begin at 11 am. Burial will be in the Brigham City Cemetery at 2:30 pm.
The family wishes to thank Dr. Robert Nash and his staff for many years of excellent care. We also want to thank the amazing team at Encompass Home Health & Hospice for their wonderful help for the past five weeks. With their assistance, we were able to keep Letty in her home until the time she danced off with Bill. Condolences and memories may be shared online at www.allenmortuaries.com