Wafe B. Reed, son of the late Lois A. Reed and Zella Myrtle Bellah Reed was born on September 24, 1924 in Gatewood, Missouri and departed this life on March 11, 2016 at the Cypress Point Skilled Nursing Facility in Dexter at the age of 91.
He and his family moved from Gatewood, Missouri to Bernie, where Wafe graduated from Bernie High School. He had lived in Dexter since 1946. Wafe was drafted into the U.S. Navy in 1944. He was nineteen at that time and was shipped out from St. Louis, where he went to boot camp in Farragut, Idaho. Pembleton, Washington was the Naval Base for ships, where Wafe boarded his tanker ship. He served on the U.S.S. Salinas A019 ship and went to Kodiak, Alaska and to San Francisco, California. This was a huge tanker that refueled the other ships. Wafe ended up in Shoemaker, CA, when World War II ended. Wafe was in the Asiatic Pacific Ocean during the war and was discharged with an honorable discharge in 1946.
He was united in marriage to Mary Virginia Pierce (Reed) on June 2, 1950, in Blytheville, Arkansas. They were married for sixty-five years and seven months, making their home in Dexter.
Mr. and Mrs. Reed owned and operated, in conjunction with his parents, the Dexter (Reed) Livestock Company, located south of Dexter for forty-five years. He also raised corn, beans, milo and some cotton on his farm south of Dexter. Mr. Reed enjoyed his family, gardening, sports, and working with 4-H. He taught many kids about raising and showing livestock. Mr. Reed retired in 1991 to pursue his hobby of gardening. Mr. Reed was of the Baptist faith and a member of the First Baptist Church in Dexter.
Besides his wife, Mary Virginia Reed of the home in Dexter, Mr. Reed is survived by one son, Dale A. Reed and wife Judy of Ellsinore, Missouri; by one daughter, Terrie J. Reed Weaver of Tomball, Texas; by five grandchildren, Dennis Michael Reed, Desirae Michelle Weaver, Andrea Danielle Weaver, Holly Lewis, Justin Lewis and his wife Megan and by two great-grandchildren, Kate and Jack Lewis.
Besides his parents, Wafe was preceded in death by his son, Douglas Wayne Reed.
Friends may call at the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter on Tuesday, March 15, 2016 from 5:00 P.M. until 8:00 P.M.
Funeral services will be conducted on March 16, 2016 at 2:00 P.M. in the Rainey-Mathis Funeral Chapel in Dexter with Rev. Greg McGhee officiating.
Interment will follow in the Chalk Bluff Cemetery.
