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Robert G. Reed
1920 - 2017
Robert G. Reed
1920 - 2017
Obituary
Guest Book
Robert Reed Obituary
former editorial page editor
and writer for The Sun
WEST NEWBURY -- Robert G. Reed, 96, was born in Wakefield on Dec. 23, 1920, the son of Harry I. and Dorothy (Chase) Reed and graduated from Wakefield High School and from Tufts University with a degree in Journalism.
Bob passed away peacefully on April 27 after a brief illness.
He enlisted in the United States Army in 1942 and served in the 81st Field Artillery Battalion. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge, the Battle for the Rhineland, and the Battle for Eastern Germany as a Corporal and then as a Sergeant, Technician Fourth Class. He was honorably discharged in 1946.
In 1983, the Reeds moved to Chatham and in 1986 to West Newbury where they resided for the last 30 years.
Bob was managing editor of the Wakefield Daily Item in the 1950s and 1960s and an editorial writer for the Boston Herald in the early 1970s. In 1975 he started at The Lowell Sun as an editorial page editor and writer. After his retirement, he continued writing occasional columns for The Sun until just recently.
Some of the best times of his life were playing the trumpet with some really well-known big bands in the Boston area. "Just terrific," he would say. He is remembered by his family as funny, caring, independent, intelligent and most of all a true gentleman.
Bob was predeceased by his wife, Marion Cheyne Reed, and his son, David Reed.
He was also predeceased by his brother Gardner Reed, his wife Priscilla and two of his nephews; Douglas Reed and Robert Reed.
He is survived by his niece Susan O'Neill of Peabody and her children Kimberly McDonagh and Tracy Condon and their families, his niece Melissa Reed and nephew Richard Reed and their families, and his nephews Scott Cheyne and Craig Cheyne and their families. He is also survived by his three grandchildren, Laura, Stephanie and Eric, and their families all of South Carolina. He will be remembered by many good friends and neighbors.
We will miss him very much.
Funeral services will be private.
Arrangements are in the care of the McDonald Funeral Home in Wakefield.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
3 Entries
Ruth E. Monahan
May 12, 2017
But the third would be my favorite. The third book would be a collection of all his columns about being a boy growing up almost a century ago. Someone else might write about playing baseball in a vacant lot (without adult supervision!), or being dismissed on the last day of school, or getting ready to return to school in the fall, but no one else could make me feel that I was right there with that bunch of kids, doing those things with them. One of my favorite columns was one I felt compelled to cut out and save: Making a willow whistle. If ever there was a story which illustrates how different life was for kids just a few generations ago, this is it. Every little step of the process, every little bit of the boy's thought process, every little reaction to the finished product is described in great detail.
In my mind, no one could bring yesterday into today the way Bob Reed could. I've missed seeing his columns in the Sun for a few years now, and rejoiced on the rare occasions they did appear. I feel lucky to have shared memories with a man who could say he remembers how much fun it was to make a willow whistle.
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Ruth E. Monahan
May 12, 2017
It was with some sadness that I read of the passing of Bob Reed. I never actually met the man, and yet I felt I knew him. Through his columns he shared himself with anyone who cared to read them. Through his columns, he opened a window to the past and invited his readers to step through and see what life was like in Lowell and its suburbs in another time. I always felt his columns should be collected into a coffee table book, or two or three, actually. One would have to be a collection of his World War II columns, reminding us of heroism which occurred when many of us were infants, or before we were even born. Reading an account of a battle, or of the homesickness of a young soldier, or the activities on the home front to support the 'boys at The Front' made me feel that I was actually there.
Another would have to be his columns about what were the everyday activities of life before the advent of modern machines and conveniences. Some evoked memories of stories my parents had told me, of having milk delivered by a milkman driving a horse-drawn carriage, or of shopping at markets before they were supermarkets, or of teams of men cutting ice on the Merrimack and storing it away for use all summer long. When my parents told me about these things, I heard what they said. When Bob Reed wrote about them, I was there.
But the third would be my favorite. The third book would be a collection of all his columns about being a boy growing up almost a century ago. Someone else might write about playing baseball in a vacant lot (without adult supervision!), or being dismissed on the last day of school, or getting ready to return to school in the fall, but no one else could make me feel that I was right there with that bunch of kids, doing those things with them. One of my favorite columns was one I felt compelled to cut out and save: Making a willow whistle. If ever there was a story which illustrates how different life was for kids just a few generations a
May 10, 2017
Thank you for your service Rest in peace
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