Lola J. Reed

1926 - 2019

Lola J. Reed, 92, died at 8:58 p.m. on Monday, March 18, 2019, at Rockwood Retirement-Hawthorne in Spokane, Wash.
She was born on April 29, 1926, in Gregory, S.D., the only daughter of Stanley and Orpha (Messick) Rosser. Lola had two older brothers: Jim and Bob. In 1933, the family moved to Oklahoma and then to Arizona. Lola graduated from North Phoenix High School in 1945. She met Robert H. Reed. He had been a B-17 pilot in England. They were married on March 20, 1949, at the University of Denver. Both planned to become school teachers, but the Korean War got in the way.
Lola was the mother of four children: Michael Charles, Rebecca Ann (died in 2008), Wesley Rosser and Janet Lynn Reed. The growing military family lived in Clark Field, Philippines; East Lansing, Mich.; Savannah, Ga.; Anchorage, Alaska; Colorado Springs, Colo.; and back to Anchorage. Lola and Bob were divorced in 1973. Lola remained in Anchorage for many years, active as a K-12 educator and a volunteer for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
In 2004, she moved to Spokane, Wash., to be closer to family. Her final years were spent at Rockwood Hawthorne in Spokane. She was an active member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Spokane.
She is survived by three children, Michael of Vicksburg, Mich., Wesley of Spokane and Janet of Pittsburgh, Pa.; four grandchildren, Diana (Josh) Carlen of Colville, Wash., Kevin (Kate) Reed of Spokane, Rachel Reed of Portage, Mich., and Maureen Reed of Kalamazoo, Mich.; and seven young great-grandchildren, Josiah, Toby, Raya, Gideon, Ward and Weston Carlen, and Jenna Reed.
Lola's remains will be cremated; interment of the ashes will take place at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Spokane. There will be a memorial service in the chapel at Rockwood-Hawthorne, 101 E. Hawthorne Rd., Spokane, WA, 99218, on Thursday, April 25, 2019, at 2 p.m. Chaplain Brad Buff will officiate.
Donations can go to NAMI Spokane in remembrance.