Lt Col Kenneth Ward Reed, USA, Retired, passed from this earth on Sunday after a long life and a brief illness. He was born in Indianapolis, Indiana to Irl Stratton Reed and Mary Gould Reed. He spent his boyhood years enjoying the citrus trees and ocean waters near St. Petersburg, Florida, with his two older brothers, Tom and Dick. At the age of 20, he left junior college and enlisted in the Air Corps, January, 1942. After flight training, he received his wings on January 14, 1943 and left for overseas duties May, 1943. He returned home briefly from England when his brother, Richard, a Thunderbolt P-47 fighter pilot, was killed in action on a mission over Germany. Lt Col Reed was a B-26 Marauder pilot as part of the Eighth Air Force, “The Mighty Eighth”, 449th Bomber Squadron, completing 66 combat missions over enemy territory and earning the Air Medal with two silver oak leaf clusters and the Distinguished Flying Cross, among others.
Following WWII Kenneth married his wife Dora, “Doh”, on December 17, 1946 in Dade City, Florida. They moved to Terre Haute, Indiana where he completed a mechanical engineering degree at Rose-Hulman University. Daughters Susan and Judy were born during this time. After completing school in 1953, the family moved to Huntsville where he began working during the earliest days of the space program at the Army Ballistic Missile Agency and later transitioned to NASA, Marshall Space Flight Center. His son, Richard, completed the family in 1959.
After Kenneth retired, he volunteered with the American Red Cross and enjoyed sharing his love for the space program by leading tours of students at the US Space & Rocket Center. Kenneth was a longtime member of First United Methodist Church of Huntsville. He continued an active lifestyle participating in tennis, running and biking. He ran in the first and subsequent Cotton Row Runs, participated in the first WAAY TV Triathlon, and the Point Mallard Half Marathon, as well as numerous road races in Birmingham, the last of which was A Race for the Cure run in Birmingham at the age of 84.
Kenneth is survived by his children, Susan Reed Kopp (Taco) of Chattanooga, TN, Judy Reed Sheppard of Birmingham, and Richard Irl Reed (Trace) of Huntsville; granddaughters, Maggie Kopp Barrie (Jamie) of Chattanooga, TN and Laura Sheppard Prewitt (Michael) of Birmingham; and great-grandson, James Reed Barrie. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his wife of 66 years, Dora Huie Reed and his brothers, Thomas G. Reed and Richard I. Reed.
Our dad was a kind and gentle man, quiet but with a quick wit and a great sense of adventure and love of learning. A member of the “Greatest Generation”, he will be greatly missed by his family and all who knew him.
Our family would like to thank Dr. Zahir Kahn, Dr. Kirk Holdsambeck, and Ms. Kelly Clifton for their dedicated care and the wonderful staff at Magnolia Trace, Willowbrook Court Skilled Care Nursing for the care provided these last few months.
No visitation is planned. A graveside service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at Maple Hill Cemetery.
Memorials may be made to the charity or organization of your choice.
