Robert W. Reed, 83, of La Grange, a community leader and the retired owner of Reed Plumbing and Heating, died of heart failure Monday, June 3, in La Grange Memorial Hospital. Born in La Grange, Mr. Reed was a 1937 graduate of Lyons Township High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University in 1941 and later received the university’s Distinguished Community Service Award. During the early 1960s, Mr. Reed was an organizer of the Planting and Landscaping Unification Service, a village project aimed at beautifying the land around the railroad tracks in downtown La Grange. “He devoted many, many hours to that project but found it very gratifying,” said his wife, Janet. As a founder of the La Grange Historical Society, Mr. Reed also helped establish the group’s headquarters on the site of the former home of Samuel Vial, one of the village’s founders. From 1975 to 1976, Mr. Reed served as the Kiwanis governor of District II. He also was president of the La Grange Kiwanis Club from 1965 to 1966. Mr. Reed was a past president of Western Seniors Golf Association and the Young Men’s Business Club in La Grange. He also was a member of the Lyons Township High School Booster Club and its community advisory council. Mr. Reed served in the Navy as an officer during World War II. Other survivors include four daughters, Barbara Hooper, Virginia Fangman, Patricia Ritchie and Diana Lyons; and four grandchildren. Memorial services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday in First United Methodist Church, 100 W. Cossitt Ave., La Grange.
