Eddie Reed, 88, former LCC resident was business executive
April 21, 2022
James Edward Thomas Reed of Myrtle Beach, a former Litchfield Country Club resident, died April 21. He was 88.
Known as Eddie, he was born May 26, 1933, in Jay, Maine, the fourth of six children of Jimmy and Grace Reed and their only son.
He learned to speak French before English and skipped two grades before graduating from Livermore Falls High School in 1950. He graduated from Norwich University in Vermont, where he was a member of the Theta Chi Fraternity, Alpha Chapter, and played several sports.
After graduation in 1954, he joined the Army and served as a first lieutenant. While stationed at Fort Drum in Watertown, N.Y., he met his future wife, Nancy DeCilles. They were married on Sept. 7, 1959.
The couple moved to California, where Mr. Reed built his career as a business executive. He worked at Fairchild, the first business in what would later become the Silicon Valley. He moved to Florida in the 1970s to work for General Electric before moving to Dalton, Ohio, to become vice president of operations for the Allen Group. He then transfered to Connecticut before an early retirement to Pawleys Island.
He was a lifelong Catholic and a die-hard Boston Red Sox fan. He traveled the world, became an avid golfer, served on the Petaluma, Calif., Library Board and the Dalton City Council. He coached his boys in baseball, was president of many organizations such as the Petaluma Jaycees, the Keystone Country Club and the VFW.
After Mrs. Reed’s sudden death in 1993, the next four years were tough and lonely until he met Sharron Davis. She brought him back to life and they spent the last 24 years together. They spent almost 20 years in Clearwater, Fla., until Mr. Reed had a stroke and they made the decision to move back to Myrtle Beach where two of his four children lived.
In 2011, his family had another tragedy when his oldest grandchild, Travis, was killed at the age of 23 while serving as a missionary in Kazakhstan.
His last five years in Myrtle Beach were a blessing to all, with many wonderful family get-togethers and memories made.
He is survived by his four children, Danielle Eiler (Eric) of Myrtle Beach, James K. Reed (Robin) of Akron, Ohio, Robert Reed (Maureen) of Wallingford, Conn., and Michelle Smith (James) of Murrells Inlet; his bonus daughter, Terri Smokovich (George) of Ambridge, Pa.; 16 grandchildren, Corbin Eiler (Brandie), Austin Eiler (Renee), Jenna Horner (Adam), Jaclyn Reed (Tyler), James Edward Reed II, Brendan, Connor, Katie and Keera Reed, Heather Price (Jonathan), Brittany Vaughan (Kat), Kyndell and Kasey Smith and Adam and Noah Smokovich; five great-grandchildren, Cameron, Cooper and Carson Eiler and Abigail and Makenna Eiler; a sister, Jeanine Wilkins (Hersey) of Turner, Maine; two sisters-in-law, Rosetta DeCilles of Dexter, N.Y., and Sharon DeCilles Van de Wiele (Leon) of Inver Grove Heights, Minn.; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Funeral services were held April 24 at Burroughs Funeral Home in Murrells Inlet by Father Edward Fitzgerald. Burial with military honors will be June 4 in the Dalton Cemetery. A party to celebrate his life will be held afterward at the Pines Country Club in Orrville.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Travis Eiler Scholarship Fund at Conway National Bank, 3591 Northgate Rd., Myrtle Beach, SC 29588.
