Sally Lou Reed

August 10, 1934 - September 10, 2006

Sally was born in Roswell, New Mexico to Fanny Fordon Shinkle and James D. Shinkle. From an early age, she appreciated the beauty, diversity and peoples of the Southwest, and returned frequently to be renewed by its spirit throughout her life. Following her parents' lead, Sally dedicated her life to education in Hermosa Beach/Manhattan Beach, California, spending 10 years teaching elementary, junior high and high school, and 24 more as a high school counselor/educational advisor.

Sally graduated from Stanford University in 1956, transferring after two years from Texas State College for Women in Denton, Texas. At Stanford, she majored in speech and drama. She met her husband Dick in graduate school at the University of Southern California, and they had twenty-two wonderful years together before he died at age fifty. Two years later, Sally met Willie Atkinson, a widower and father of three of her counselees. They traveled the world, taking care of each other and sharing each new day.

For eleven years, Sally volunteered as the "director" of an English as a Second Language center affiliated with both national and international literacy. Painting, photography and reading were hobbies high on her list but only after family and friendships. She was particularly proud of completing Finding Fannie: A Daughter's Journey, a book about her mother, an intriguing woman, a person whom she had scarcely understood during her lifetime.

Sally's journey touched so many. Those who traveled the same paths with her, whether for a day or a lifetime, remember her kindness, generosity, compassion and infectious smile. She filled our lives with color and joy. In Finding Fannie, she describes her comfort at knowing her parents believed in her hopes and dreams, and shared in her wonderful journey - not by looking down from afar, but by looking out from inside her. We fellow travelers will deeply miss Sally, but know that her life and legacy remain inside us. As her parents believed in her, Sally too believed we could fly.

We all remember Sally's smile. In that spirit, don't cry because she's gone, smile because she lived.

A service celebrating Sally's life will be held at Manhattan Community Church on Friday, September 22, 2006 at 1:00 P.M. An open house reception will follow.

For information on Sally's memorial service please go to www.lafuneral.com. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Sandacre Scholarship Fund in memory of Sally Reed, 1401 Artesia Blvd., Manhattan Beach, CA, 90266.