John W. Reed

John Walter Reed, age 62, a Rochester area resident for 38 years, died Wednesday Feb. 15, 2006 at St. Mary?s hospital. Born May 17, 1943 in Scott Field, Illinois, he grew up in Liberal, KS where he graduated from Liberal High School in 1961. His lifelong interest in radio manifested itself early as a disc jockey on a local radio station and as an amateur radio operator. He received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Kansas State University in 1965 and then a Master of Science as a National Science Foundation fellow in Electrical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 1967. He subsequently joined IBM for 32 years in Rochester where he worked on the System/38, System/36, and AS400 as an Engineering Manager in Strategy and Technology. He received numerous patents and awards including an Outstanding Contribution Award for the Micro-Programmed Area Controller. Upon retirement in 1999, he extensively researched genealogy across the U.S. His interests included travel, photography, programming, weather, flying, and teaching amateur radio classes. Survivors include his wife Johnnie Sue, a daughter Sally (Dan) Kohlmeyer, and a son Dr. Evan Reed as well as two grandsons and two sisters. Friends may call from 4 pm to 6 pm on Saturday at Mahn Family Funeral Home Rochester - Chapel. Memorials may be sent to the Rochester Public Library.