SUDBURY, Mass. — Dr. Homer Reed died peacefully on April 20, 2022, at Newton Wellesley Hospital during a brief illness.
He was born in Hays, Kansas, on January 30, 1930, the youngest child of Homer B. Reed and Elma Carey Reed.
Dr. Reed was the beloved father of Lynne Reed of Leicester, N.C., John Reed and his wife Beth Webb Reed of Holmes Beach, FL, Alexandra Reed and her husband WulfdieterKlemm of Glendale, CA and Mark Reed of San Francisco, CA. He is also the loving grandfather of Carey Pettaway of Leicester, NC, Lauren Reed of Washington, D.C., and Mathew Reed of Los Angeles, CA. He also leaves his nephew Patrick Reed of New York City and 20 (estimated) other nieces and nephews. He is pre-deceased by his brother James Reed, his former wife Dorothy Reed, and his sisters Mary Elizabeth Seruto, Kathryn Daughaday, Margaret Schweinand Anne Jansen.
Dr. Reed was raised in Hays, Kansas, where his father was a professor in psychology at Fort Hays State College and his mother was an avid antique collector and part time antique dealer in addition to being a homemaker. He was a gifted child who was frequently asked to participate in psychology studies or experiments, and he graduated from high school at the age of 16. He went on to obtain his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Ft. Hays, then he entered the doctoral program in psychology at Purdue University and received his Ph.D. in 1955.
Dr. Reed was on the faculty at Florida State University from 1956-60, but he spent two summers learning neuropsychology from Dr. Ralph Reitan at Indiana University Medical Center, and this became his passion. He obtained a faculty position at IU in 1960 and worked with Dr. Reitanuntil 1966. He was then recruited to develop a Neuropsychology Service at Tuft’s New England Medical Center, and he directed their neuropsychology program until 1997. Subsequently, he worked privately as president of Medical Psychology Associates until 2006, and afterwards, he continued to do some part time work in the practice of his colleague, Dr. Allan Rooney, until January 2020. He trained and mentored post doctoral fellows throughout his career, conducted research, especially in pediatric neuropsychology, and he was author or co-author of 29 articles published in professional journals.
Outside of his professional life, Dr. Reed was a competitive bridge player who most often partnered with his brother James at tournaments. He also loved fly fishing, he was a voracious reader, from professional books to philosophy to Westerns and Mysteries, and he was known for his sense of humor, which was often mischievous.
Visitation will be held on Thursday, April 28, 5:00-7:00 p.m., at the John C. Bryant Funeral Home, 56 Pemberton Road, Wayland, MA. (open to the public)
Funeral services will be held Friday, April 29, 11:00 a.m., St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 39 East Central Street, Natick, MA. (open to the public)
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts in Dr. Reed’s memory may be sent to the Homer B. Reed Fund, c/o Developmental Services of Northwest Kansas, P.O. Box 310, Hays, KS 67601, or online at www.dsnwk.org.
For condolences please visit www.jcbryantfuneralhome.com.