In loving memory
Earl David Reed, Jr
July 4, 1919 - June 24, 2009
Sublimity-Earl David Reed, Jr. was born on July 4, 1919 to Earl D. Reed Sr. and Anna Louise (Steinke) Reed in the sand hill country 15 miles north of Laird, Colorado. He entered into the presence of his lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on June 24, 2009. He was the fifth of eight children. The family moved to a home near Holyoke, Colorado when Dave was 5 years old. As a young boy, he helped his father with farming chores, and rode horseback 3 1/2 miles to school with his brothers and sisters. At an early age, he enjoyed the sport of baseball. A later move took the family to live near Venango, Nebraska. In the spring of 1937, Earl and Ana moved their family to Oregon, finding a home 6 miles east of Salem.
Dave worked for two years on a dairy farm in east Salem for fifteen cents an hour. In April of 1940, he traveled to Alaska in search of a better paying job. He joined the 3 C’s government program (Forest Service) for two months. He then found work at Elmendorf Air Field in Anchorage, Alaska chopping brush to clear the land for surveying to build a new Air Base, making ninety cents an hour. He later drove a flatbed truck and a gravel dump truck, helping with the construction of the air field. He signed up to enter the military and left Alaska. He returned to Stayton to visit his parents and received his draft notice. He entered the Army Air Force on May 9, 1942. Reed was trained as an airplane mechanic and aerial gunner. He flew 35 missions out of Africa and Sardinia over Italy and France, manning the gunner’s turret of an Army Air Corps B-26 bomber. He was awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart and finally, in 2002, received the French Croix de Guerre, with recognition from Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber.
Staff Sergeant Earl D. Reed married Lillian L. Hamrick on November 28, 1944. They lived in Illinois for a short time, where Reed received his honorable discharge on September 5, 1945. They moved to the Salem area, then to Willamina where Reed was a farmer and lodger/lumberman with Reed Brothers logging. Dave and Lillian were both active in the Willamina VFW, and were on bowling leagues, each receiving numerous trophies. They raised three children, Sharon L. Caligan (Harold), Sterling, Alaska; Aaron M. Reed (Vicki), Los Osos, California; and Joyce M. Vaughan of Salem. Dave and Lillian moved to Vale, Oregon in the early 1970’s to farm and raise cattle. Mr. Reed continued farming until he moved to Sublimity in 2001.
Mr. Reed was preceded in death by his parents; wife Lillian; sisters Ella Miller and Emma Sexton; brothers Robert and Howard. He is survived by his children; sister Martha Fletcher of McMinnville; brothers Carl Reed of Silverton and Clyde Reed of McMinnville; eleven grandchildren and fourteen great-grand children.
Memorial Services will be held at 10:00am on Tuesday, June 30, 2009 at Salem Alliance church, 555 Gaines St NE Salem, OR 97301. In lieu of flowers the family suggest donations to Odyssey Health Care (Hospice) 8625 SW Cascade Ave Suite 500 Beaverton, OR 97008
Arrangements are by Virgil T. Golden Funeral Service
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