Robert Reed

On Friday, July 20, 2007, after a long battle with Parkinson’s and Lewy body diseases, Robert Vernon (“Bob”) Reed “walked on,” beginning the last leg of his journey to meet his Creator. Bob was born at home on January 16, 1924, in Lansing, Michigan, to Claire McKinley Reed and Floy Pearl Harvey. His roots ran deep: His German forebears first arrived in North America with French explorers in 1605, while his Anishinaabe (Chippewa) ancestors settled the area at least 2,000 years ago. His family maintained its connection to the central Michigan land, often working as itinerant laborers in the rural areas of south central Michigan during the Great Depression. Throughout that decade and during World War II, Bob and his brothers all worked to maintain the family threshing business, often in the face great hardship: the grinding poverty of the Depression, when payment might be a chicken or some eggs; threats and sabotage by the Ku Klux Klan, which eventually ran the family out of one central Michigan town for their refusal to cooperate; and the loss of family labor to the draft during the war. On October 4, 1947, Bob married Marilyn Genevieve Miller, also of Lansing, and on August 23, 1948, their first child, Robert Clair Reed, was born. A daughter, Jeanne Kaye, was born in 1950, followed by Patricia Anne in 1953, and Barbara Ellen in 1966. By the 1960s, Bob had launched his own auto repair business in Lansing. In 1971, illness forced him to retire; in 1973, hoping to improve his health, Bob, Marilyn, and their youngest daughter moved to New Mexico. For a few years, Bob’s health improved, and he worked as a painter, roofer, and carpenter, providing expert services at deeply discounted rates to senior citizens on fixed incomes. Eventually, however, the Parkinson’s and Lewy body diseases forced him to retire permanently. Bob was predeceased by two daughters, Jeanne Kaye Reed Getter in 1993, and Patricia Anne Reed Apostol in 2006; one sister, Lauretta Reed Younger, in 1980; and one brother, LeRoy Foster Reed, in 1998. He is survived by his wife, Marilyn G. Reed, of Roswell; by his son and daughter-in-law, Robert C. and Linda Reed, of Littleton, Colorado; by his youngest daughter, Barbara E. Reed, of Roswell and Taos; by one brother, Harlan Reed, of Georgia; by one sister, Dorothy Reed Wilson, of Florida; by grandchildren Dustin Koutsouvos of Michigan, Deborah Getter and Tom Howell of Michigan, Vicki and Greg Daugherty of Colorado, and Trisha and Randy Clark of Texas; by numerous great-grandchildren, nieces, and nephews; and by his beloved dog, Major. The family wish to thank the staffs of Mission Arch Care Center, VistaCare, and Anderson-Bethany Funeral Home for their kindness and assistance during this difficult time. Bob’s daughter performed a traditional Anishinaabe ceremony at his bedside; no other services will be held. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made in Bob’s name to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, to the National Parkinson Foundation, or to any Native American domestic violence prevention organization.

Robert Reed

January 16, 1924 - July 20, 2007