Charles Reed

1936 - 2025

Charles Reed

March 3, 1936 - May 13, 2025

Caldwell, Idaho - Dr. Charles Elwood Reed passed away peacefully on May 13, 2025. He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on March 3 1936 to Charles Glenwood Reed and Johnnie Wren Johnson. A kinder, more considerate and loving man never walked the Earth. Charles exemplified a "Life Well Lived" that can only be briefly described here. Some of Charles' early jobs included working as a "printer's devil" and later for a newspaper in Port Hueneme and packing fruit at a lemon packing plant. His most unusual job was working for the Atomic Energy Commission collecting specimens after nuclear bomb blasts in order to record the results of radiation on local flora and fauna. Charles met his first wife, Gwen Ruth Norton, in Oxnard, CA when they were in the eighth grade. Gwen was a brilliant student and actually edged out Charles as Valedictorian and won a full scholarship to USC. They rekindled their friendship after Charles also enrolled in Medical school at USC and UCLA, and after a 3 year courtship they were married. While in medical school, although Charles ultimately decided that he wanted to go into general practice, during his surgical rotation he did hold the record for fastest appendectomy! After medical school their first daughter, Shannon, was born and just a few days after his 30th birthday, Charles was surprised to be drafted. He spent 2 years of active duty in Denver, happy that he would never actually be sent to Vietnam. He worked at the Fitzsimmons Pulmonary Function Lab where he ran one of their 3 tuberculosis wards. Their second daughter, Arlene, was born before Charles was discharged from the Army in 1968. Accepting an opportunity for Charles to join a medical practice in Caldwell, Idaho turned out to be a critical decision for the family. It was not their first choice, but they soon settled into this small and close-knit community. Charles would spend his long career focused on Internal Medicine and Pulmonary Disease. His calm manner and the time he spent getting to know his patients made Charles a well-respected and beloved doctor in his community. He also set up a school to train respiratory therapists to work with his patients in the hospital. He and Dr. Will Hubler started the second fully-monitored coronary care unit in Idaho and Charles was the only board-certified pulmonary physician in the state for about five years. Music always played a huge role in Charles' life. He played trombone throughout high school and college, and even into his later years he performed with the Caldwell Centennial Band. He loved classical music, swing, and jazz, but also folk music by Peter Paul and Mary and John Denver. He and Gwen were avid hikers and cross-country skiers and loved the outdoors, especially the high country of the Sawtooth mountains and the whole family walked and skied many miles together. Sadly in 1986 Gwen discovered she had cancer, and she lost her battle in 1992. Following this great loss, Charles was able to find love again with Mary Hendricks when a mutual friend asked her to help Charles navigate through this kind of loss. Mary had lost her husband 4 years earlier and was able to help him see that there could still be a future filled with joy and adventure. They married in 1993 and spent the next 32 years traveling, making new friends, blending their families, and just enjoying life! They traveled to every continent except Antarctica (Charles said he had "seen ice and penguins, and didn't need to go that far South!"). Journals were kept on each trip so the adventures could be re-lived many times. Charles and Mary took some family members on a trip to Germany in 2000 to attend "The Passion Play" performed in Oberammergau, Germany since the 16th Century. There were also family Christmas celebrations in Yellowstone Park and most recently in McCall, Idaho. Travel was one of the things Charles and Mary both enjoyed immensely and they shared this love by taking each granddaughter on their own individual trips. Charles retired from his formal medical practice in 2003 and for a while he worked for the Idaho Public Health department supporting a tuberculosis clinic serving a growing number of patients. He also continued to consult with other physicians on a variety of cases. Charles and Mary continued to learn about a variety of topics by taking classes at the C of I. They enjoyed their season tickets to Yote football and basketball games and attended Half Century Club lunches. Charles is survived by his wife of 32 years, Mary Hendricks Reed. Also, his daughters, Shannon Heckelsmiller (David), Arlene Reed-Cossairt (Roy), his step daughters Julie Aspen, Mimi Hollenbaugh (Craig), and Christina Hendricks (Jeremy Biesanz). Grandchildren, Kirstin Johnson (Derek), Cynthiann Heckelsmiller (Aaron Lightner), Amy Cornell, (Nathan), Laurel Hollen-Forbes (Cat), Kayla Hollenbaugh, and Sasha Biesanz. Great Grandchildren Apollo and Elarra Johnson, Charlotte Mary Lightner, Austin Cornell, and Elliot Hollen-Forbes. He also has "bonus" families including Lars and Birgitte Tolstrup and their children Christian Houen, and Max and Regitze Tolstrup as well as Ian, Mercedes and Bodie Aspen. Charles will be greatly missed and his family, friends, and community will honor him with a memorial service on July 19th at 10am at Jewett Auditorium on the College of Idaho campus.