MERLE E. REED

    Merle Elton Reed was born 2 Feb. 1911 three miles southwest of Elliott the son of Melvin LeRoy Reed and Grace Mabel Goltry. He  attended country school for a short time, then attended Elliott Grade and High School, graduating in May 1928. He attended Iowa State College (now Iowa State University) at Ames, Iowa, graduating in 1932 with a B. S. in Civil Engineering. He married Helen Rosamond Taylor, daughter of Arch Lyle Taylor and Lillian Marie Hunter at Arnolds Park, Iowa in the home of the bride's parents on 13 June 1935. Helen also attended Iowa State College, graduating in 1933 with a B. S. in Home Economics. She taught school in the High School at Dunbar, Iowa for one year before being married.

    Their children were: Patricia Diane Reed born 30 July 1938, Jack Philip Reed born 12 March 1941, Sherry Kay Reed born 8 June 1951.

    Merle served in the U. S. Naval Reserve during WWII, entering with the rank of Lieutenant (jg) and retiring as a full Lieutenant. He served 22 months overseas in New Guinea with the Seabees (Pontoon Assembly Detachment No. 3).

    After the war, the family moved to Hayward, California where Merle worked as a Structural Engineer for several companies in the San Francisco Bay area. In 1953, he moved to Sacramento, California where he was employed by the State of California for 22 years, also as a Structural Engineer. He has been retired since April, 1975.