Accident Claims Navy Man’s Life

Commander Raymond D. Reid Will Be Buried Here Friday

High-ranking Navy officer Commander Raymond D. Reid died enroute to a Boston hospital, Saturday afternoon, shortly after suffering fatal injuries in a fall at his home.

Funeral services for the former Blair man, only son of Mrs. Ada Reid of this community, will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at Bendorf Funeral Home, and burial will be in Blair cemetery. The Rev. W. F. Lewis, Congregational minister, is to have charge of the rites. The body arrived in Blair this (Thursday) morning.

During his 24 years of service as a dental surgeon in the U.S. Navy, Commander Reid had travelled widely and had lived in such far-flung lands as the Philippine Islands, Nicaragua, and Cuba. He had advanced to a high station, and was in line for a promotion to Navy Captain at the time of his death.

Born in Blair on June 30, 1895, Commander Raymond Donnelly Reid was a graduate of Blair high school and of Creighton University, Omaha. After spending several years in private practice in Blair, he joined the Navy in 1920. In recent years, Commander Reid had been stationed at Philadelphia, and later at Boston, Mass.

He was married in 1919, one child being born to the marriage. Some years ago he was re-married to Florence Suydam of Philadelphia.

Survivors include the widow, who was with him at the time of his fatal accident; his daughter, Joan, of Battle Creek, Mich.; and his mother, Mrs. Ada Reid, and an uncle, James Reid, both of Blair.

Pilot Tribune 28 Dec 1944

Many Present At Funeral Rites

Funeral services for Commander Raymond D. Reid, Boston Navy officer who died following a fall at his home on Dec. 16, were held last Friday at the Bendorf Funeral Home. The Rev. W. F. Lewis, Congregational minister, officiated in the presence of a large number of friends of the former Blair dentist.

Among those who came from a distance for the services were Dr. D. E. Connelly of Omaha; Mr. and Mrs. Philip Knutsen of Exira, Ia.; Mr. and Mrs. Joe Lindholm of Audubon; Mrs. D. D. Fitch of Haxton, Colo.; Mr. and Mrs. Leland Peebles of Randolph and the late Commander Reid’s daughter, Miss Joan Reid of Battle Creek, Mich. Miss Reid remained until Tuesday as a guest of her grandmother, Mrs. Ada Reid.

Enterprise 21 Dec 1944

Commander Raymond D. Reid Rites Friday

Native Of Washington County. In The Service Since 1920

Commander Raymond Donnelly Reid, only son of Mrs. Ada Reid, of this city, died suddenly last Saturday night at his home in Boston, Massachusetts, following a fall at his home.

Commander Reid had been with the navy since 1920. He was a graduate of the Blair High School and of the Creighton University Dental College in Omaha. After his graduation, he practiced for a time in Omaha and Blair.

In 1920 he was married to Miss Margaret Buckley of Battle Creek, Michigan, and to them a daughter, Joan, was born. He afterwards married Miss Florence Suydam of Philadelphia.

His work in the service has taken him to every continent on the globe and he was well informed in all the branches of army service. He visited his mother here in Blair several days last year and enjoyed renewing the old acquaintances of his boyhood. The father died in 1931 and the mother has kept up her home in Blair and he was a most welcome guest during his visit.

Funeral services, which will be of a military nature, will be held tomorrow (Friday) afternoon at 2 o’clock from the Bendorf Funeral Home with Rev. Watson F. Lewis of the Congregational Church officiating, and interment will be made in the Blair cemetery.

Pilot Tribune but no date

It’s Cool in Boston

Lieutenant Commander Raymond D. Reid of the navy, a former Blairite, informs Bill Strode of the Pilot-Tribune that he’s now in Boston and wants his P-T sent there.

“I am located here for a spell,” writes he, “and find that Boston has many desirable features. Especially the cool weather.

“Will be glad when this world ‘shindig’ is over and the country gets back to normal. It will likely be some time before I will visit Blair again, so give my best regards to the folks.”

Note: Buried in Blair Cemetery, Blk 69 Lot 13 Gr 4; born 30 June 1895; died 16 Dec 1944; buried 22 Dec 1949; age 49; Find a Grave # 118150433

~~~ Obituary courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Blair Public Library at Blair, Nebraska.~~~