Thomas Dixon Reed, 87

Thomas Dixon Reed, of Kalispell, died April 28, 2012, at the Montana Veterans Home in Columbia Falls where he had resided for the last years.

Thomas Reed was born April 10, 1925, in Missoula, to Glenwood and Jessie Reed. They later moved to Ronan where Tom received his education through high school, graduating in 1943.

He later volunteered for the Army and saw action in Forbach, Alsace Lorraine. Upon his discharge from the service in 1946, Tom enrolled in Montana State College in Bozeman where he met his future wife, Betty Hartmann, of Ethridge, Mont. They were married in 1948.

Tom graduated in 1950 with a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering. He received his designation as a second lieutenant through his participation in ROTC, of which he was the cadet colonel. He also served in the Montana National Guard throughout his college years.

The Korean War had started and Tom was again on active duty. Tom and Betty's daughter, Candace, was born in Fort Ord, Calif., shortly before Tom was again sent to Europe. When Tom returned from Europe, he was employed by the Ideal Cement Company in Denver, and was later transferred to Devil's Slide, Utah.

In 1960 Tom and Betty moved to Seattle seeking a broader education for their daughter. It was in Seattle that Tom joined the Kemper Insurance Group as a field engineer. He remained with Kemper until his retirement in 1987. During this time he held many positions in the Loss Control Engineering Department until he was designated as loss control officer, supervising engineers and nurses throughout the world.

Upon retirement Tom and Betty moved to Bigfork, which they came to love. Tom spent his retirement years doing things he enjoyed. He was especially proud of his service on the original steering committee of Habitat for Humanity, in which he was instrumental in constructing the first Habitat house in Montana, located in Whitefish. He also served in various positions in the Red Cross and greatly enjoyed delivering Meals on Wheels.

One of his fun activities was badgering friends to save education labels from Campbell’s soup cans and various cereal boxes. These he gave to the elementary school in Dixon.

Tom's donation of blood for many years led to his final gift to us all, his body to the Human Brain and Spinal Fluid Resource Center connected to UCLA.

Tom is survived by his wife, Betty, of Kalispell; his daughter, Candace, and son-in-law, Steve Gorham, of Salem, Ore.; and sister-in-law, Irene DeWit, of Columbia Falls; also niece and nephew, Ellen and Tim Hartmann, of Columbia Falls; nephew, Jim Hartmann, and Mary of Arizona; nieces, Rose Marie Hughes and Melville, Mary Andrew and Dennis of California, and Lori Schrieber of Washington; cousin, Bonnie Snavely, of Missoula; and special friends, Cathy Brenneman and Becky and Jessie Gulledge.

His family wants to thank the staff at the Montana Veterans Home for their superb care of Tom during his years there.