Melva Reason

Melva Pridgen Reason, 76, of Wilson, passed away peacefully at home with family at her bedside on Sunday, June 14, 2026.

She is survived by her daughter Candace Barron of Wilson, sons, Preston Reason (Sheila) of Roanoke, VA and Kevin Reason of Wilson; grandchildren, Allen Barron, Lauren Barron and Abby Reason; sisters, Kathy Parham (Bill) of Ramsuer, Terry Marquez of Selma, Phyllis Evans of Raleigh, Beth Jewell (Joey) of Thomasville, Sugie Davenport (Mark) of Washington and Kara Gonzales (Brandon) of Albuquerque, NM; brothers, Phil Pridgen (Ann) of Angier, Timothy Pridgen of Wilson.

Melva was preceded in death by her husband, Donnie Reason, parents, Albert Dallas Pridgen and Leyta Faye Smiley Pridgen; brothers, Albert Dallas Pridgen Jr., Spencer “Spink” Pridgen and Matthew Pridgen.

Anyone that knew Melva thought of two things. Her love of fishing and her love of cooking. There was never a stranger at her dinner table. She was also referred to as the hostess with the mostest. She and her husband Donnie were always hosts of any kind of family gathering, special occasion celebration or even just a night to let loose. She loved entertaining. Those were her passions in life in addition to her family. Her hostess skills changed after her grandchildren were born. She gave up her career in the legal industry to focus on her new title as Gamma. She loved Allen, Abby, and Lauren to the moon and back. Her hosting changed from her friends and acquaintances to hosting sleep overs for her grandchildren and often their friends. Her cooking passion turned to providing the biggest breakfast spread to her grandchildren on Saturday mornings and Sunday dinners with her children and grandchildren. She wanted to share every passion she had with her grands as she called them. After they started elementary school, every summer when school got out, she would take them to Kerr Lake camping. She continued her cooking there and always had a big breakfast she made on the camp stove. After the first year, she realized the two burners were not enough for her to cook eggs, bacon, grits, sausage and tenderloin biscuits, so she bought two others to have six burners. We had to bring our own picnic table, as the one on the campsite was her designated cooking area. That will be the spot where the celebration of her life will be held in August.

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date in August.

Visitors are welcome at the family home this week between 11 am and 4 pm.

The family would like to extend a special thank you to her nurses and caregivers at Wilson Hospice for providing comfort, peace, and care to Melva.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made directly to Wilson Memorial Service to assist with end-of-life expenses.

Arrangements by Wilson Memorial Service, 2811 Fieldstream Dr N, Wilson, (252) 237-7171; www.wilsonmemorialservice.com