Dr. James L. Reed, Jr., 88, of Pensacola, Fla. passed away Thursday, August 8, 2019. He was born in Little Rock, AR on August 17, 1930 to James L. Reed and Hazel Burns Reed. They lived there until almost his 10th grade of school, and then moved to Lonoke, AR, where he graduated from Lonoke High School in 1948. James attended and graduated from The Citadel in Charleston, SC in 1952 and then moved to Selma, AL, to help his parents run an ice plant. During the Korean War, he was in the Air Force and stationed at Eglin Air Force Base, working in the climate hangar testing missiles and bombs. After he returned to Selma, he met the love of his life, Segie M. Thompson. The two married at the First Christian Church in Selma in 1957, and he decided he wanted to become a dentist. James attended and graduated valedictorian from the University of Alabama-Birmingham’s School of Dentistry in 1962, and then moved with Segie to Pensacola, FL, where he began his dental practice. James and Segie welcomed sons James and John in 1963 and son Thomas in 1964. James soon decided to go back to UAB to become an orthodontist and after graduating, he switched his practice to orthodonture, providing people with beautiful smiles for decades until he retired in 1995. James attended the First Christian Church in Pensacola, was a member and one-time president of the dental society in Northwest Florida, a Mason and a Scottish-Rite member, and regularly attended Waterfront Rescue Mission meetings. James liked to work with his hands… he built a grandfather clock, several cabinets, a table, headboards, and got help from a friend restoring a Packard.
James and Segie also loved to travel and made friendships with people from around the world. James died peacefully in Pensacola on August 8, 2019, with his sons James and Thomas at his side.
He is preceded in death by his wife, Segie Marie Reed in 2014; son, John Lilburn Reed in 2010; father, James Lilburn Reed in 1992 and mother, Hazel Burns Reed in 1995.
Survivors include his son, James Thompson Reed formerly of Atlanta, GA (now in Pensacola); son and daughter-in-law, Thomas G. Reed and Suzanne Reed of Papillion, NE; granddaughter, Kylie Reed and grandson, Tyler Reed, and his wife Rachel and their children (James’ great-grandsons) Chase and Hayden.
Funeral Service will be held 10:00am Wednesday, August 14, 2019 First Christian Church, 6031 Goodrich Dr., corner of Goodrich and Langley, in Pensacola. A private graveside service will follow at Bayview Memorial Park.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to the charity of your choice, or to The Citadel or UAB.
Posted in: Pensacola News Journal
Posted on: 2019-08-13
Link to original obituary: https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/pensacolanewsjournal/obituary.aspx?n=james-l-reed&pid=193606583&fhid=6072