Reed, Rosie Juanita "Skeeter" 1916-2011

REED, SMITH, DAVENPORT, SCHOONOVER, GAMBLE, CAMPBELL, HURT, ROSE

Posted By: Marilyn Holmes (email)
Date: 11/24/2011 at 08:04:45

The Grinnell (IA) Herald-Register; Aug. 1, 2011

ROSIE JUANITA REED

Juanita "Skeeter" Reed, 94, passed away Wednesday, July 27, 2011, at St. Francis Manor in Grinnell.

Funeral services were held Monday, Aug. 1, at the Smith Funeral Home in Grinnell with the Rev. Raymond C. Lott officiating. A graveside service has been scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 3, at the Anderson Memorial Cemetery in Anderson, Ind.

Memorial contributions may be directed to the Juanita Reed Memorial Fund. Thoughts and memories can be shared with the family at www.smithfh.com.

Juanita was born to Lewis Albert Davenport and Hettie Francis Smith Davenport Aug. 6, 1916, in Altamont, Mo., into what turned out to be a family of 12 children. When she was 11 years old, the family moved to a small farm near Cooper, Ky. There at an early age she worked as a housekeeper for some of the local families. She attended school in Altamont, Mo., and later the Huffaker School in Wayne County, Ky. Skeeter later moved to Grinnell and worked at Candy Land. She lived a short while in California during the war, then returned to Iowa before relocating to Anderson, Ind.

On Sept. 3, 1964, she was united in marriage with William Leon Reed, at the Little Brown Church in Nashua. While residing in Anderson, she worked as a clerk at Hook's Drug Store until her husband became ill. She then retired and became his caretaker until he died in November 1982. Her passions were quilting, gardening, canning and collecting antiques of all kinds, expecially crystal.

She is survived by two sisters, Dorothy Schoonover of Grinnell and R. Viola Gamble of Wellington, Fla., and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; six brothers, Carl, William, James, Lloyd, Norman and Lester Davenport; and three sisters, Lela Campbell, Stella Hurt, and Ida Rose.