Obituary of Martha Reid

Martha Jane Walz-Reid Martha was born on June 25, 1958 in Silver City, New Mexico to Jack and Kathleen Walz. Jack Walz was a linotype operator and later became manager of the Silver City Daily Press, and Kathleen Walz, R.N., worked in multiple medical departments at Med Square Clinic and at Hillcrest General Hospital. Martha passed away on Saturday, December 31, 2016, following several years from chronic illness." She is survived by her husband, Mark Reid, and sons Jeremy and James Reid. She is also survived by her mother, Kathleen (Walz) Cushing, three brothers, Kent Walz, Jerry Walz and Daniel Walz, and one sister, Barbara Johnstad, all of Albuquerque. "Anybody who ever knew her for more than 10 minutes had their life touched in a positive way," said her son James. Her husband Mark who had been married to her since April 30, 1986, described her as the "greatest lady I ever knew." Martha received her early education in Silver City where she attended and graduated from St. Mary's Academy, and then attend and graduated from Silver High School. She obtained her R.N. degree from Odessa Community College in 1981. When living in Silver City, Martha earned a reputation as an accomplished horse rider as she would frequently ride her mare, Bronkett, bareback while delivering newspapers in the rural areas near Silver City. At that time, Martha lived in a rural subdivision near Silver City known as Mockingbird Hill. Following her mother into the medical field, Martha excelled. She worked as a nurse at Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque for over 20 years, where she worked on the heart transplant recovery team; worked on the cardiac unit, worked on the short stay unit, and worked in multiple other positions. She served as charge nurse multiple times. Her efforts were recognized by her peers as on several occasions she was honored as "nurse of the year" and also was recognized with many other awards in the medical field. Martha also enjoyed training other nurses to reach their maximum capabilities. Importantly to Martha, her greatest concern was providing first rate nursing care to patients and providing patients with an opportunity to express their feelings to someone who cared. Many individuals who Martha cared for who were previously unknown to family members have contacted the survivors with stories about Martha's kindness and nursing abilities. However, this type of recognition of Martha's skill and kindness is nothing new. "I had an attorney approach me who I didn't know that well ask me several years ago if I was related to Martha Reid. I told him yes. The next words he spoke with tears in his eyes were to the effect that he wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for Martha's care following his heart surgery," said Jerry Walz, a longtime Albuquerque lawyer. Martha retired from active nursing in 2006, but her love of people an