- Date Of Birth: August 21, 1917
- Date Of Death: November 20, 2011
- State: Indiana
Alyce Eloise Reed, 94, a lifelong resident of Elkhart, passed away at 3:55 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 20, 2011, at the Golden Living Center of Elkhart of natural causes.
She was born Aug. 21, 1917, to the late Wilbur and Ruth (Darr) Burke and later married Donald O. Reed on June 25, 1938, in Auburn. He preceded her in 1966.
Surviving is her son, Thomas (Linda) Reed of Elkhart; grandchildren Jody (Dan) McDonough of Bristol and Jason (Angie) Reed of Elkhart; great-grandsons Steven and Brady Reed and Matthew and Samuel McDonough; and a host of nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by a son, Timothy L. Reed; sisters Bette Biddleman and Margaret Deitchley; her brother, Kenneth Burke; and grandchild Jamie Lyn Reed.
Alyce graduated from Elkhart High School in 1935, where she lettered in orchestra as a cellist. One of her greatest memories was playing with the orchestra at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair.
She worked at the Hudson Clinic in Elkhart for nearly 20 years, retiring, much to her trepidation, in 1987. After that, she became quite the world traveler, and, in her ’70s, she bicycled across the Netherlands on two separate occasions. She became a member of the Elderhostel Travel Club and spent as much time as she could traveling, acquiring many new friends and experiences along the way, including learning how to make pottery, caining chairs and woodworking. Other adventures included traveling to Alaska during the airline strike, working on a Windjammer Barefoot Cruise in the Caribbean (where she slept on the deck under a blanket to avoid sea-sickness) and swimming off the Galapagos Islands with Loggerhead and Ridley sea turtles in a life vest because she actually could not swim.
There were very few situations that she didn’t feel she could overcome, and her strength and humor during adverse situations were an inspiration to her entire family.
Alyce was a friend to all she met, and her smile and kindness will be remembered as much as the love she held in her heart for others. She enjoyed a great ability for making those around her feel comfortable, and she never once wanted to stop learning. “I wake up every morning and say ‘Yahoo, Lord, You’ve given me another day to teach me something new!’” was one of her favorite sayings.
