Janet Reed

Janet (Jean) Schneider Reed was born March 2, 1929, in Lu Verne, Iowa; the daughter of Albert and Anna (Wedel) Schneider. Jean grew up in Lu Verne and graduated from Lu Verne High School as class valedictorian. After high school, she attended Iowa State Teachers for two years before taking a teaching position in Lone Rock, Iowa when she was 19 years old.

On May 16, 1948, she was united in marriage to fellow Lone Rock school teacher, Sanford Junior Reed, in her hometown of Lu Verne. Besides teaching in Lone Rock, Jean and Sanford also taught in Webb and Arnolds Park. In the summer of 1957, the Reed family moved west to Southern California where Sanford and Jean were hired by the West Covina Unified School District. Besides holding a full-time teaching job and raising a family, Jean continued her education and earned a master's in education from the California State University at Los Angeles.

Every year the Reed family returned to the Iowa Great Lakes area as soon as school was out for the summer in California. Many memorable summers were spent with the travel trailer parked on the Sylvester farm in Webb. In the spring of 1969, some close friends told Sanford and Jean about a cottage going up for sale in Breezy Heights on Little Emerson Bay, West Lake Okoboji. Jean always said it took some prodding to get Sanford on board to make a purchase offer but soon the property was theirs. The Breezy Heights cottage was the summer home for the next 15 years until 1984 when Jean and Sanford retired from teaching school in California and moved back to Iowa. That summer the Breezy Height's cottage was razed and a permanent home was built. At the Breezy Heights residence, Jean and Sanford would enjoy what they considered "the best retirement ever" gardening, boating, and entertaining relatives, friends and neighbors. Every December, Jean and Sanford packed up for Southern California and spent the winter with their children, returning to Breezy Heights the following April.

After Sanford's death in 2014, Jean continued to live in Iowa until she was 90 years old, thanks to many friends, neighbors and relatives who looked out for her. In 2019 Jean moved back to California, having purchased a home at the Colony, a senior gated community in Murietta, California, a block away from her younger sister, Janelle Miller. In 2024, Jean moved into an assisted living facility in Fallbrook, California.

Jean was both a dedicated homemaker and elementary school teacher. She was very passionate about playing duplicate bridge and continued to play duplicate through her 95th year. Each day started with coffee and the crossword puzzle. The Reed yard was always bountiful with vegetables and colorful with flowers. Everyone loved her cinnamon rolls. Together, Jean and Sanford traveled all over the United States, Canada and Europe. She was a faithful member of both Harbor of Joy and First Lutheran Church in Milford, Iowa.

Janet Harriet Reed died Monday, July 21, 2025, at Silvergate Assisted Living in Fallbrook, California after a very brief illness. She is survived by her children, Susan Reed of Fallbrook, California, Sanford Jon (Laurie) Reed of Hemet, California; Sara Reed of El Cajon, California; two grandchildren; siblings Merlin (Holly) Schneider of Reno, Nevada and Janelle (Robert) Miller of Murrietta, CA; a Cousin Carmen Nielsen of Lu Verne; and many nieces and nephews.

Preceding her in death are her parents; husband, Sanford (2014); grandson, Sanford Joseph Reed (2020); brother Harlan Schneider and sister Jarine Sutton.

A graveside service will be held at the Lu Verne Township Cemetery on September 11, 2025, at 3:30 pm. All are welcome to join the family at the Flipside in downtown Lu Verne for food and drink after the service. In lieu of flowers, the children request a donation be made to the charity of your choice in remembrance of their mother.