Kay Schmidt Reed

Kay Schmidt Reed, of Beaverdam, Virginia, died Monday, August 11, after a prolonged illness, with her beloved husband Don at her bedside. The daughter of Anna Willey Schmidt and Richard Egerland Schmidt, Kay was born December 4, 1952, in Henrico County, Virginia, and lived her entire life in central Virginia.

In addition to her husband, Donald Raymond Reed, Kay is survived by her son, Clarke Whitmore Boehling, her daughter, Robin Anne Boehling and her husband, Todd Alan Breland, her brother, David Schmidt and his wife, Cynthia Schmidt, and her brother Charles Schmidt and his wife, Carrie Schmidt.

Kay grew up in Henrico County when it was mostly farmland, and she always fondly recalled the bygone days when Richmond’s dense city center quickly gave way to relatively unspoiled countryside. As an adult, she retreated to the placid calm of western Hanover County in the early 1990s and remained there until her last days, reveling in the multitude of birds she so loved observing, and welcoming the diverse wildlife that regularly visited her and Don’s lovely property in Beaverdam.

Always a keen observer of her fellow human beings and a gifted illustrator, Kay gained notoriety in high school for her remarkable and hilarious drawings of her friends and classmates, producing notebooks of caricatures with which she would amuse her young children down the road. She also possessed an incredible memory for detail, regularly regaling friends and family with rich stories of long-ago events and friends she had not seen in decades; to know Kay was also to know those who mattered to her.

Kay’s delightfully outlandish sense of humor permeated her entire engagement with the world around her, offering a bit of sparkle to even the most mundane of events, and keeping her loved ones thoroughly entertained—and always on their toes. And while Kay had the enviable ability to avoid taking anything too gravely seriously, she always left those close to her with no doubt as to how important they were to her, and her humor was always underpinned by a deep and loving warmth.

The family would like to express their gratitude to the wonderful team of caregivers at Autumn Care Rehabilitation and Heritage Green Assisted Living in Mechanicsville, Virginia, and ACG Hospice, who helped to provide ease and comfort in Kay’s final days.

A memorial service for Kay will be held at 12pm on Saturday, September 13, 2025. Please follow the link below to receive details and RSVP.

https://fb.me/203J2qaTgVvMepE

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to her favorite animal rescue organization, EVELYN'S WILDLIFE REFUGE, in honor of Kay's love of her fur babies. 5281 Deer Path Road, Suffolk, VA 23437.

evelynswildliferefuge.org