Keizer – Robert Poe Reed, Jr, of Keizer, Ore, passed away on August 2, 2009. He was a kind, generous man, ever smiling, with a sense of humor everyone enjoyed.

Born in Johnstown, Pa. on Sept. 21, 1932, he was the only son of Robert Poe Reed and Anna Leone (Haynes) Reed. In his early years he attended the Admiral Farragut Academy in N.J. and the Perkiomen Preparatory school in Pennsburg, Pa. He received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Mining Engineering from West Virginia University in 1955.

Upon graduation, he joined the Bethlehem Steel Corp. as a member of the Loop Course Management training program and was assigned to the Cambria Division, near Johnstown, Pa. He received a number of supervisory advancements in the Division and in 1963 was named Superintendent of the Coal Preparation Plant at the division’s Mine 33 in Ebensburg, Pa. In 1974 he was appointed to Chief Engineer of the Cambria Division, in charge of all engineering and construction work. With the outbreak of a major underground mine fire at the plant, he successfully directed the work required over 13 months to extinguish the fire, and returned the plant to full production.

In 1980 he was transferred to the Bethlehem International Engineering Corp., a Bethlehem Steel subsidiary, and moved to Bethlehem, Pa. Two years later he became Sales Manager of the corporation, which took him abroad to Europe, India, Australia and China. Upon completing the project in Shandong Province, China, the Chinese government hosted the Bethlehem team to a formal banquet in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, with the Chinese Prime Minister in attendance.

Upon retiring in 1989, he met and married the love of his life, Claire Jean (Roddy) Reed, who greatly enriched his life. Simultaneously he accepted a consulting position with Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., Allentown, Pa., to provided technical support for the design and construction of the coal fired Cambria Cogeneration Plant in western Pa., using bituminous coal waste as feedstock.

Bob was an avid golfer, having played many of the major courses in the country and an active hunter. During their marriage, Bob and Claire travled extensively actively both here and abroad, and enjoyed opera wherever they lived. Being afficionados of good food and wine, they frequently entertained friends at home, where their hospitality was always enjoyed. Bob served on the Board of Directors of the Laurel Bank in Ebensburg, Pa. and was an Elder in the First Presbyterian Church there. Subsequently, both he and Claire were Deacons for many years at the First Presbyterian Church, Bethlehem Pa. Without doubt, his Christian faith gave him strength throughout his life. In 1998 they moved to Tucson, Az and in 2004 to Keizer, Or. to be near family, due to Bob’s increasing disability with his Parkinson’s/Lewy Body disease.