Ila M. Reed

Ila Mae Anderson relocated to Marion County, where she raised and educated four girls: Ollie, Bessie, Caletha, and Ophelia and three boys: Harold, Tony, and Ronald (all preceded her in death).

Early on, Ila was contacted by Jehovah’s Witnesses, who studied the Bible with her. She changed her life, dedicated herself to Jehovah, and was baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, pursuing her spiritual course of preaching the good news from door to door.

Ila met fellow witness, Walter Reed, and they were married (he preceded her in death). She continued spreading the good news, teaching what she had learned to all she met until she succumbed to health issues. She was faithful in her ministry, doing as much as she could, because she loved sharing the good news about Jehovah God and his son, Christ Jesus. Attending the conventions, meeting with friends she met over the years, was a joy to her!

Rusty, her dog, was her friend until the end of his life, when he began experiencing health issues. They were like two peas in a pod. After Rusty passed away, she would say, “I miss my dog!”

If you asked Sister Reed how she felt she would say, “I’m hanging but not high, I wanna flip but can’t fly.”

Sister Reed will be sorely missed by her four daughters; one sister, Mrs. Lucille Greaves; one brother, John D. Kelly, Sr.; one daughter-in-law, one son-in-law, many grandchildren, great grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, a host of nieces, nephews, relatives, and friends from all over including Alabama, Boston, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina.

Sister Reed’s hope and trust was in the words spoken in the Bible at Revelation 21:4: “And He (God) will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither mourning nor outcry, pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.”

The family thanks all for their well wishes, phone calls, gifts, and condolences in our time of sorrow.