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Known to friends and loved ones as Reenie, Martin was a lifetime member of the South Media Fire Company, officials said on Facebook. She was one of the first woman ever to earn that distinction in the company's 101-year history — "a trailblazer," her grieving colleagues wrote.
In 1991, the South Media Fire Company's members selected Martin as firefighter of the year, the company noted.
"Reenie was an active and vibrant firefighter who made the lives of every member who interacted with her richer; and whose life (and antics) provide many of the kitchen table stories that our current members enjoy hearing," company brass wrote on Facebook.
Born in Upland to the late Robert Gallagher and Elinor Staska, she was a graduate of Penncrest High School in Middletown, loved ones wrote in her obituary. She is remembered as a passionate lover of animals, and was predeceased by her husband Robert Martin, her obituary says.
Most recently, she lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the obit adds. Martin leaves behind siblings Bill Gallagher of Media, Bernadette Poperechny of Wilmington, Del., and Paul Gallagher of Linwood, her loved ones said.
Click here to read the full obituary from J. Nelson Rigby Funeral Home.
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