Duane "Sandy" Cameron Reed

close by his side on March 14, 2022. Sandy was born in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada.

At the age of 14 years old, Sandy and his family moved to Los Angeles, Ca where he

would find himself flipping hamburgers as a job. Sandy was never fond of LA, It was

quite a life change moving from the cold open spaces to a very busy city. Three years

later, they settled in Modesto Ca, where in the winter time he would be learning the

trade of trenching from Floyd Butcher and in the summer time he hauled fruit for Milton

Squire up and down the valley delivering to all the local fruit stands. In 1950, Sandy and

his brothers were drafted into the Korean war and served for 2 years as a medic at the

Osaka, Japan Hospital. Sandy would then go on to working full time with his father and

two brothers, which was called, Reed's Trenching. Sandy then would meet his wife,

Velma in 1955 at the Modesto Central Seventh Day Adventist Church, where Sandy

was a youth Leader. Sandy and Vel were married 66 years, and together they raised

three daughters and their only son, Duane, which they had laid to rest when he was 29

years old.

Sandy always felt he needed to be out operating his own business. One day

Sandy would find himself visiting with a great uncle of his that he had only seen one

time in his life. Sandy’s great uncle felt a need to give Sandy and his family funds to buy

them their first trencher. He then would go out and start trenching for Paul Strickland

with his very own trencher. He soon bought Paul Strickland's business and Sandy made

his career as a self-employed underground contractor, known as “Sandy’s Pipelines” in

1973. Sandy took much pride in his work and could be found digging ditches across the

Central Valley for all the dairies and local farmers. He learned to love and appreciate all

the different districts and people that he had worked with along the way. All of Sandys

hard work paid off and in 1980 they would find themselves building their dream home

out in Waterford Ca, on 48 acres up on a hill with dry creek surrounding it, which they

called “The Ranch”. The Ranch was enjoyed by many family and friends over the years

and one of Sandy's favorite spots to walk and enjoy God's creation.

Later on in life, Sandy would find himself stepping back from the business and

finding even a greater love for the dirt. He loved to take care of his boysenberry grove,

along with all his melons and vegetables. Sandy never “retired”, he was a man that

always had to be doing something productive, which meant driving a water truck for his

son in Law, Dan Avila out in the watermelon field. Whether it was hoeing weeds,

pruning trees, splitting wood…this man loved his rough hands, ladders, and yard tools

up until just four weeks before he passed.

In July of 2009, Sandy and Vel moved to Turlock Ca, where they called that their

“forever home”. Sandy would then plant more boysenberry vines, fruit trees, vegetables

and melons to keep his time occupied. During the summer months, Sandy picked up

another job that he loved ever so much! And that was running the local watermelon

stand for five years on Washington Rd. in Turlock with his wife, Vel. Sandy became

quite “The cute old man that ran the melon stand,” real fast! He loved seeing all the

farmers that he had once done work for. Sandy would do the picking and Vel would give

the change. Just two years ago, it became too much for Sandy to manage and thought

it would be best that he would go back to his farming at home.

Sandy loved the Lord with all his heart. He loved to study Ellen G. White and his

bible on a daily basis and was very knowledgeable about the Lord's writings. He served

as an elder in the church for a very long time, and always made it a point to be home on

the Sabbath and make church a priority for him and his family. Sandy also loved his hot

drinks in 100 degree plus weather, Vels freshly baked cookies and his Robert Graham

dress shirts that he wore up until 2 days before he passed. Sandy always liked to look

his best, even when it was just family coming over. He always hated to be cold and for

people to catch him sitting in his rocking chair, he thought we would think of him being

lazy. Sandy always enjoyed Friday nights, which meant his grandkids and great

grand-kids would be coming over to have family time, fruit and Grandma's cookies! He

was always a quiet spirit, but always loved to talk about religion and politics. Sandy and

Vel Loved their President Trump and Fox News! Lots of memories were made on Friday

nights, up until the week before he passed. Sandy always said he would live to 100

years old, but only if God saw fit.

Sandy was a devoted husband, father, grandfather and great grand-father. He

was well loved and will be missed by many. He is survived by his wife, Velma, 3

Daughters, Cathy (Wendell), Sherlene (Rick), Lori (Dan), brother George, sister Shirley,

10 Grandchildren, Andrew, Eric, Danielle, Brian, Kristin, Nick, Alivia, Steven, Eric and

Jason. And 13 Great Grand-Children Wyatt, Cole, Brielle, Danilyn, Ava, Kaden, Kinsley,

Haislee, Aubrey, Clay, Zack, Quinn and baby Cameron (due July 2022). Sandy is

predeceased by his mother Gladys, father Raymond, brother Rodney, and son Duane.

Sandy now rests in peace waiting for Jesus’ soon coming at the Lakewood

Memorial Park, where he lays beside his brother, Rodney and only son, Duane. Sandy’s

tombstone is a life sketch of all the things he loved including his digger, berry vines, his

tractor, his grandchildren, the oak trees from out at The Ranch and a picture of Sandy

and Vels Wedding. We invite you all to stop by and visit Sandy’s final resting spot and

his stone that he cherished so much when he was alive.

A celebration of life for Sandy will be held Saturday, April 2, 2022 at 3:00 PM at Waterford Seventh Day Adventist Church, 13701 Yosemite Blvd, Waterford, CA. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in honor of Duane Reed to The Community Hospice Foundation.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.LakewoodHughson.com for the Reed family.