Barbara Blanton Reid

Barbara Blanton Reid passed away on Saturday, February 1, 2025, to be with her Lord and Savior at the age of 84.

Barbara was born in Chesnee, SC on July 17, 1940, to Dewey and Estelle (Lee) Blanton. She graduated from Chesnee High School in 1958 where she cheered, was crowned beauty queen in numerous pageants, and played piano and clarinet. She graduated from Limestone College three years later and continued with post-graduate work to obtain a master’s degree in education. Barbara taught fourth grade at Harbor View Elementary School in Charleston, SC and fourth grade in Atlanta, Georgia. She then spent four years with her husband in the army in Bremerhaven, Germany. When she returned home to SC, she was very involved in the Spartanburg County Medical Auxiliary and the Spartanburg Garden Club, but her primary focus was on raising her children. Barbara designed and supervised the building of her New England saltbox country home that was featured in Colonial Homesmagazine. She loved antiquing, decorating, cross-stitching, gardening, and watching songbirds from her porch. Barbara also had a passion for genealogy and spent years researching the history of her and her husband’s families. 

Barbara and the love of her life, Dr. Samuel D. Reid Jr., met as young children, and he proposed to her when he was 5 yrs. old, and she was only 4. Barbara and Sam spent the next 80 years together, marrying in 1961 and raising four children. Their amazing lifelong romance was featured in the Spartanburg Herald Journal in 2011 as they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. 

Barbara is survived by her devoted husband, Dr. Samuel D. Reid Jr. and her 4 children, Robin Reid (Ace), Missy McMahon (Daithi), Wendy Davis (Steve), and Sam Reid, III (Sherer). She was blessed with 13 grandchildren including Kate, Caleigh, Maridy, Claire, Sarah Reilly, Emily, Reid, Duncan, Mary Caroline, John, James, Christian and Nasta. She is also survived by her beloved sister Mary Grady Brasington, her niece Rennie Newman, her nephew Wil Brasington, and her sister-in-law Betty Reid Jones as well as many other nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Barbara will be dearly missed by her precious long-term caregivers and friends Mina Alonzo and Jose Garcia.

Family will receive friends from 10:00 – 10:45 am, Thursday, February 6, 2025, at Floyd’s Greenlawn Chapel, 2075 E. Main Street, Spartanburg, SC 29307. 

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 am in the chapel, followed by the Committal service in Greenlawn Memorial Gardens Heritage Chapel Mausoleum. Services will be conducted by Pastor Mitch Edge.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, stjude.org or the Shriner’s Hospital for Children, shrinerschildrens.org.