Jean Reid Obituary

Longtime area resident Jean Phyllis Siegfried Reid died Wednesday, April 2, 2014, after a brief struggle with cancer. She was 88.

She was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Sept. 11, 1925, to Warren Siegfried and Mildred Gundlach. She graduated from high school in Englewood, N.J., in 1944 and from Montclair State Teachers College in Montclair, N.J., in 1948, where her majors included English, speech and music.

She met her future husband, Charles H. Reid Jr., at Montclair. They continued to date while he attended graduate school at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and she taught middle school in Windsor. The couple married in 1950 and moved to Hesperus, where Mr. Reid joined the faculty of Fort Lewis A&M College.

Mrs. Reid was a substitute teacher in the Hesperus and Durango areas while raising their four children.

Her energy and fun-loving nature endeared her to acquaintances of all ages, and many of her children's friends came to consider her as their second mother, her family said.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Mrs. Reid joined a group of residents who founded the La Plata County Humane Society. She served as a board member and volunteer, eventually becoming shelter director. She also served for years as a local representative to both the Colorado and American Humane Societies.

In 1978, Mrs. Reid was honored as the first woman to receive the Durango Citizen of the Year Award, for her work with the La Plata County Humane Society.

Mrs. Reid was a member of Christ the King Lutheran Church from its earliest days as a mission church in Durango. She served in the church choir, on many church committees and several terms on the church council. She also worked for many years as volunteer secretary.

Mrs. Reid was preceded in death by her half-sister, Dorothy Siegfried; and her husband of 63 years, Charles H. Reid Jr.

She is survived by her sons Charles Reid of Romeo and Kevin Reid of Newburgh, Ind.; daughters Megan Reid of Durango and Robin Reid of Salt Lake City; and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

A joint memorial service for Mrs. Reid and her husband, who died Jan. 2, 2014, will be held at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 15, 2014, at Christ the King Lutheran Church.

Memorial donations for Mrs. Reid may be sent to Christ the King Lutheran Church, 495 Florida Road, Durango, CO 81301 for the worship and music program or the La Plata County Humane Society, 1111 South Camino Del Rio, Durango, CO 81301.