WILLIAM L. REED
Aug. 14, 1935 - Sept. 19, 2008
NILES - Mr. William "Bill" Reed, 73, of Huntly Road, Niles, Michigan,
died of a brief illness at 5:30 p.m. Friday, September 19, 2008, at
Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center, South Bend. Mr. Reed was born
on August 14, 1935, in Niles, to Stanley R. and Dolpha (Atha) Reed. He
was a retired supervisor at the former Contech Company of Mishawaka,
Indiana. Bill was well-known for his vegetable garden and stand on
Huntly Road. He was an active member of Pokagon United Methodist
Church and a member of the Howard Township Lions Club. Additionally, he was a
former volunteer with the Howard Township Fire Department. On June 13, 1954, in
Niles, he married Janet L. VanLue, who survives. Other surviving family includes his
mother, Dolpha Reed of Niles; and his three children, Brenda (Conrad) Gaedtke and
Michael (Kari) Reed, both of Niles, and Gary (Sheri) Reed of Granger, Indiana. Six
grandchildren survive, Erika Pickles, Ryan, Ross, Nick, Nichole and Michael Reed; as
well as four step-grandchildren, Jayson, Traci, Chad and Conrad II Gaedtke. Also, Mr.
Reed has seven step-great-grandchildren. Bill has two sisters, Alice Miller of Niles and
Stella (Chuck) Steiner of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and two brothers, Ed (Joan) Reed and
Jim Reed, both of Niles. The services for William L. Reed will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday,
September 23, 2008, in Halbritter Funeral Home, Niles, with Rev. Patricia Hass of
Pokagon United Methodist Church officiating. Committal will follow at Mission Hills
Memorial Gardens. The family will receive relatives and friends beginning from 6 to 8
p.m. Monday in the funeral home. Contributions in memory of Bill may be made to
either the church or to the Old Rugged Cross Foundation.
Published in the South Bend Tribune on 9/21/2008