Reed Robert Helton

school events where he was the shining light. You have been there in times of struggle and in times

of glee. Others have only experienced the life of Reed through stories and experiences shared by

Susan, Paul and Trent. Collectively you have all been integral parts of Reeds life story. Reed had

the purest soul of anyone you would meet.

The one thing you need to know about Reed is his ability to show unconditional love. Reed could

not walk, play sports or communicate in a way most could understand. What Reed could do is bring

a smile to anyone even at a time when smiling was simply hard to do. Reed would laugh at the most

inappropriate times and everyone around would end up laughing too. While we were serious, Reed

was just Happy! The most awesome time that only a very few experienced was waking Reed up in

the morning and seeing and hearing him laugh, smile and generally cackle because he was so happy

to be loved. Here is a child that compared to all of us had no quality of life, yet he lived bigger and

better than any of us can hope for.

Another thing you need to know about Reed is how much he loved people. He was always

distracted when he was in school because he wanted to see peoples faces and hear their voices.

When people would come to the house Reed would start squealing and laughing as people spoke.

And the louder we were, the happier he was. He loved to be the center of attention, and he was a

natural at it.

Reed graduated from College Park High School in 2014. He even received a letter jacket for

attendance! Over the years Reed had many teachers including Denise, Brandy, Jane, Andrea and

Mr. Dave. They all not only cared for Reed, but as parents we felt their love as well. We would get

notes, pictures, posters and all sorts of crafty things they worked with Reed to create. He would get

home and you could tell how proud he was of his accomplishment at school that day. We would

also like to thank Reeds many nurses he had over the years. They were there to make sure he stayed

healthy and educated us on ways to improve his life.

Reed also had a Best Friend, his caregiver of over 20 years Vera. We also called her Aunt (long

story). Vera lit up when she came to take care of Reed, and he never let her down. He would laugh

when she talked with him. He would get excited when we told him Aunt was coming over and when

she opened the door he would look around until he saw her and start talking. Vera would sing to

Reed as she went about her day and Reed loved every word. Vera and Reed had a bond that is rare

in anyone’s life and she took care of him as if he was her own child. We will be forever grateful for

the love and joy she brought Reed and our family.

Everything you should know about Reed would take days to tell. The most important thing to know

is how he affected hundreds of friends and family through the lessons you/we learned from him. He

taught us grace, humility, unconditional love. patience, forgiveness, and strength. He makes us all

realize how fortunate we are in life to have what we have, and that you really don’t need much to be

truly happy. He taught us that being different is not scary, it should be embraced. He taught us that

those who have nothing still may have more than us.

Reed endured a lot of pain in his life. Countless surgeries, some minor and some major but he

always smiled and took care of us in his own way. He was the strongest person we know and if any

of us get even a small percent of his inner strength we will be blessed.

Reed Robert Helton was born December 6, 1991 to Susan and Paul Helton. He spent his first and

last Christmas’s in the hospital surrounded by loved ones. Reed passed away peacefully on January

8, 2022. He is preceded in death by his grandparents, Bob and Joan Helton, his uncle Wayne and

his aunt Teresa. He is survived by his mother Susan, father Paul and brother Trent. He is also

survived by his grandparents Joe and Jane Reed and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.

In lieu of flowers please donate to St. Luke’s Health in Reeds name under the designation The

Woodlands Hospital Excellence Fund. The link is below

https://www.stlukeshealth.org/give/make-one-time-donation