Floyd W. Reed

Floyd Reed was the kind of man who made everyone around him stand a little taller. Born in Anaconda, Missouri, on January 11, 1936, to Earnest and Mabel Reed, he grew up in St. Clair with a competitor’s heart and a teacher’s patience. On the court, field, and track he was a standout; in life, he was a steady, joyful presence. After graduating in 1953, Floyd attended William Jewell College in Liberty, where he majored in biology and physical education and again excelled in baseball and basketball. He was talented enough to earn an invitation to a St. Louis Cardinals tryout, but true to who he was, Floyd chose his growing family and calling over a shot at the big leagues.

Floyd married the love of his life, Sharon Lee (Moore), whom he met at William Jewell. Married in 1956, they just celebrated 69 years together, a partnership defined by faith, laughter, grit, and deep devotion. Together they raised four children: Lori, Randy, Lindy, and Kerry and built a home where encouragement was constant, competition was friendly, and love was unmistakable.

Floyd began teaching and coaching in St. Clair in 1957. In 1963, he and Sharon moved to Raytown, joining his college friend Bud Lathrop to help open Raytown South High School. For decades, Floyd taught biology and coached baseball and basketball, building programs and people with the same steady hand. Generations knew him as Coach Reed: the one who remembered your name, expected your best, and believed that hustle, humility, and heart matter on and off the field. In 2018, the Raytown South baseball field was named in his honor, and he beamed at the ribbon cutting, grateful and characteristically modest. He was later inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame recognition that meant less to him than the successes of his students and players, but that his family and community proudly celebrated.

Retirement hardly slowed him down. Floyd worked part-time with the Raytown School District’s maintenance team and drove for ReDiscover Health Center, still showing up, still serving, still helping folks get where they needed to go.

Floyd loved Jesus as his Savior and lived his faith quietly and consistently. At First Baptist Raytown, he served as an usher, greeter, and Sunday School teacher for many years. If you met him at the door, you got a warm smile, a firm handshake, and the sense that you mattered.

He found joy in God’s creation, hunting and fishing whenever he could, and in cultivating it at home. His backyard garden was legendary, a place where tomatoes grew big and stories grew bigger. He was a fierce but friendly competitor in croquet and pinochle, the kind who made the game better and the company sweeter.

Floyd was preceded in death by his grandson, Evan Reed; his brothers, Buck and Carroll Reed; and his son, Lindy Reed.

He is survived by his beloved wife, Sharon, of Raytown; his children, Lori Neuhart (Dave) of Trinity, FL, Randy (Jean Ann) of Mountain Grove, Kerry (Lori) of Lee’s Summit, and daughter in law, Annette of Blue Springs. He also leaves behind 10 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren, many nieces, nephews, and a wide circle of family, former students, players, and friends who will carry his lessons and his love forward.

Floyd’s legacy is written in the classroom and on the diamond, in the pews of his church and the rows of his garden, in the lives of those he coached, taught, mentored, and cherished. To be coached by him was to be believed in. To be loved by him was to know you were home.

Services will be held on Friday, September 19, at Connection Point Church (Atrium), 10500 E 350 Hwy, Raytown, MO. Visitation will be from 9:00 – 11:00 am, with the funeral service beginning at 11:00 am. Internment will be immediately following at Floral Hills Cemetery, 7000 Blue Ridge Blvd., Kansas City, MO.

The family requests in lieu of flowers that contributions be made to the Lindy Reed Evangelistic Association, which will be used for educational scholarships. Checks can be made to Lindy Reed Evangelistic Association, c/o Tesa Guevel, 40109 E White Rd, Oak Grove, MO, 64075.