Obituary of Richard Martin Reese

Dr. Richard Martin Reese, age 74, of 429 Skylark Boulevard, Satellite Beach, Florida, passed away at his home on Tuesday, September 15, 2015. The love of his life, Linda, was at his side. While he will be remembered most as a loving husband and loyal friend, he will also be remembered as Professor Emeritus of Clemson University. During his 25 plus year tenure at Clemson, Richard was instrumental in developing both the MS and BS in Marketing degree programs. While his area of expertise was in Marketing Research and Marketing Management, he found his calling as Chair of the Department for many years. During this time, the Marketing major grew from a few hundred students to well over 1000. In fact, Marketing was the second largest degree seeking major on campus under Richard’s nurturing leadership. While family was his passion, education was his calling and his achievement can be seen by the thousands of students whose lives he impacted and inspired while teaching at Clemson, Auburn and Oakland Universities. During his 40 year career in higher education, he expanded many student minds, wrote numerous scholarly articles and was a leader in the field of marketing both nationally and internationally. As well as being an educator, Richard also lent his expertise to numerous industries and organizations as a marketing consultant. In education there is a saying, “those that can do, and those that can’t teach,” but Richard excelled as both an educator and a business man. Long after retirement, he continued to amaze with his sharp recall and breadth of knowledge. He was truly a uniquely brilliant man. As much as he loved his profession as an educator, he loved fishing and water sports. This passion was finally satisfied at retirement when he moved to Brevard County, Florida. Each morning he left his home in Satellite Beach to join friends at his favorite beach and snap photos of the sunrises. He had a dry wit and wonderful sense of humor. Richard’s passing has left an emptiness which will be felt by many. Please join us for a Celebration of his life which will be held on Friday, September 25th, at 3:00 p.m. at Ammen’s Family Funeral Home, 1001 South Hickory Street, Melbourne, FL 42901.