Nancy Reber

Nancy D. Reber passed peacefully from this life in the early morning hours of June 2, 2015 after a brave battle with cancer.

She was born on June 11, 1961 to Robert & Helen Devlin, and grew up on a small farm in Vincentown, NJ. As a child she developed a love for animals, music, art, writing and reading. She excelled at almost everything she did, including academics, and graduated as valedictorian from Lenape High School in Medford, NJ. She attended Brigham Young University, in Provo, Utah, on an academic scholarship, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in justice administration. There she made many life-long friends, and met her husband, Douglas Reber, from Monterey, CA. They were married in the LDS temple in Jordon River, Utah. They moved to Fullerton, CA, where her husband completed graduate school, and moved to Bakersfield, CA in 1990. There she has been very active in community service, including Cub & Boy Scouts, church service, and volunteered several hours a week at her son’s elementary school (Del Rio) in various capacities over the past 11 years. She is well known and loved by nearly everyone at the school including the principal, staff, teachers, custodians, students, and other volunteers. She spent most of her time in the library, where she inspired many children to share her love of reading (“You can go anywhere in a book!”). Her dachshund, Luke, often goes with her to Del Rio, where she is known by many of the children as “Luke’s mom”.

She is survived by her son Scott Reber, twin sister Laura Raskis (Husband Jack), sister Cris Balkam (Husband Paul), and half-brothers Robert and Arthur Devlin.

Funeral will be on Friday, June 5th: Reception with friends & family at 2:30 p.m., Funeral service at 4:00 p.m., at the LDS Deseret Chapel at 601 Deseret Way (off Coffee Rd, between Truxtun Ext and Stockdale Hwy). Interment will be private at a later date.