Former manager of Kerley, Reed, & Bryant General Store
David Reed. (Courtesy photo)
David Disney Reed, 84, son of Reuben A. Reed and Josephine Disney Reed, died Sept. 30, 2009, in Rifle, Colo., after a long illness.
Born July 24, 1925, Dave grew up in Harvard with his older sisters, Constance (McClellan) and Mary (Pieters). He loved the outdoors, especially winter sports. During high school he had a summer job caring for sled dogs at Chinook Kennels in Wonalancet, N.H., which provided dogs for one of Admiral Richard Byrd’s Antarctic expeditions.
After graduating from Concord High School in 1943, he enlisted in the Army’s 10th Mountain Division, the renowned ski troops, and trained at Camp Adair in Colorado. After the war he attended Amherst College on the G.I. bill, and graduated in 1951. In 1954 he married Faith Trumbull, whose family owned the Country Store in Concord. In the 1960s Dave managed Kerley, Reed, & Bryant’s General Store in Harvard, where his father had been a partner for many years. He initiated the sale of clothing at the store, emulating the model of the Country Store.
Dave was a member of the Rotary Club of Ayer and was active in Harvard town affairs. He ran unsuccessfully for state office as a Republican, but later in life became a staunch Democrat.
He and Faith raised three daughters in Harvard—Hope, Abigail, and Rachel—before moving to Colorado in 1971. For many years, the couple returned to New England for summer visits to Harvard and to Mashnee Island on Cape Cod. Faith predeceased Dave in January 2008.
Dave’s last months were spent at the E. Dene Moore Care Center in Rifle, Colo., where he was surrounded by friends and family members, including his daughters, Hope and Rachel, and granddaughter Brittany.
He is also survived by his sister, Constance McClellan of Harvard; by cousins Donna (Disney) Bousquet of Newland, N.C., and Polly Bentzinger of Edinburg, Texas; by nephews Jim McClellan of Harvard, Peter McClellan of San Miguel, Mexico, Andrew McClellan of St. Louis, Mo., Mark McClellan of Rockland, Maine, Ned Pieters of Carrizozo, N.M., and Frank Locke of California; by nieces Laura (Pieters) Cordy of Ely, England; Marcia Pieters of Littleton; Katharine Pieters of Arlington; Helen Cook of New York, N.Y.; Mim Locke of San Francisco, Calif.; Jennifer Wright of Japan; and by six grandnephews, a grandniece, and two great-grandnephews.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, Oct. 10, in Battlement Mesa, Colo. Condolences and remembrances can be sent to the family at 124 Columbine Lane, Parachute, Colo.
