Caroline McDonald Reed

Caroline McDonald Reed, 81, a native of Washington who lived her entire life in the Washington area and hosted receptions following the annual white-tie dinners of the Gridiron Club, died on Wednesday, February 1, 2012, at the Sunrise of Arlington senior assisted living residence. She had complications from breast cancer.

Mrs. Reed lived in McLean and at her country home in the Blue Ridge mountains in Loudoun County, Virginia, where she entertained Gridiron Club members at summer picnics. For the past 18 years, she had welcomed members and guests to after-dinner Gridiron receptions given by her husband that included ambassadors, cabinet members, governors and other officials.

Mrs. Reed was a graduate of the old Western High School in Washington and from Longwood College, now Longwood University, in Farmville, Virginia. As a young woman, she participated in a celebration of the inauguration of President Harry S Truman in 1949, riding a parade float and dancing with movie star Gene Kelly. Following college, she was a teacher at the Beauvoir School at the National Cathedral in Washington. She later worked as a sales associate at Hecht Company stores.

In McLean, she was a political worker for Democrats, serving on the Dranesville District Democratic Committee and as a precinct captain. She was active in the campaigns for lieutenant governor, governor and U.S. senator of Charles S. (Chuck)

Robb. She traveled over Virginia campaigning with Lynda Johnson Robb and her mother, the former First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson. Mrs. Reed was godmother to the Robbs’ youngest daughter, Jennifer.

At her home in Loudoun Heights, she enjoyed the peaceful mountain life and her hobbies that included needlework, for which she won awards. She was an avid reader of biographies, particularly those of Washington officials whom she knew well. She was a

dedicated traveler, sailing on cruises with family and friends to almost all parts of the world. She visited China and Russia, where she dined at Spasso House, the official residence of the U.S. ambassador in Moscow.

Mrs. Reed is survived by her husband, Travis Dean Reed of Loudoun Heights, whom she married in 1957; two daughters, Anne Reed Adams of Fredericksburg, Virginia, and Lisa Reed Lettau of Arlington; a brother, Captain William M. McDonald, USN (Ret.), of Potomac Falls, Virginia; and three grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be made to the American Cancer Society, Longwood University, or Capital Caring in her name.