Wilma Reese Manning

Wilma Reese Manning of Victoria Street, Washington, passed from this life on Thursday, September 17, 2015 at the Donnell House following a lengthy illness. She was born March 9, 1927 in a coal patch in the Bentleyville Area of Washington County, the daughter of the late John and Mary Wisnieski Reese. In her early life Mrs. Manning worked on her family’s dairy farm.where she was tasked with the chore of rising before dawn to milk the cows. She developed an animosity toward the bovine species and one cow in particular that repeatedly kicked over the milking pail. After leaving home she worked various jobs throughout the Mon Valley and finally settled in Washington. There she worked as a waitress at the Green Tree Restaurant where she met the love of her life Jack Manning. She also worked for many years as a cleaning lady for Chapman Corporation, starting in their small office on Chestnut Street and remaining with the company as it grew into a full size office building on Jefferson Avenue. She will always be remembered for her spirit of kindness and generosity to everyone she met or who was in need. She truly lived the tenets of her Christian faith. Wilma had an inexplicable love of professional tennis and was an avid football fan despite the fact that she remained convinced all pro sports are controlled by a shadowy criminal enterprise. On April 9, 1950, she married John A. (Jack) Manning who passed from this life on September 28, 2008. Surviving are four children, John A. (Penny) Manning of Canonsburg, Mary Ellen Manning (her selfless caregiver), Sid (Lisa) Manning of Washington and Joe (Lynn) Manning of Washington; four beloved grandchildren, John Interval of Washington, Maggie Manning of Washington, Caitlin Manning of Delaware and Lauren Manning of Canonsburg; a sister, Wanda “Petie” Beckinger of Monongahela and many nieces nephews and cousins. Deceased, in addition to her parents and husband are her brothers, John, Albert, Julius, Henry and Frank Reese, and a sister, Dorothy Bowman. Friends will be received Monday, September 21, 2015 from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. at William G. Neal Funeral Homes, 925 Allison Ave, Washington. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Tuesday, September 22, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. at Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church. Entombment will follow at Washington Cemetery. In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be sent to the Little Sisters of the Poor, 1028 Benton Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15212.