James Hugh Reid

James(Jim) died unexpectedly on August 29, 2016 at his home in Seattle at the age of 70. He was born in London, England on April 20, 1946, the first child of Walter and Patricia Reid, and older brother to George (deceased) and Andrew.  In the early 1950's the family moved out of London to Hampshire.

James did extremely well at all the schools he attended, collecting academic prizes left, right and centre.  Aged 11 he won a scholarship to the prestigious St Edward's School, Oxford.  While there he developed his musical talent for playing the piano, cello and organ. In 1963, he won a further scholarship to Keble College, Oxford (Oxford University) to study physics.  After Oxford, came a Masters in Physics at Sussex University and then in 1970 he moved to Calgary, Canada to start a PhD, again in Physics. In 1973 he completed his PhD on "Non-Leptonic Weak Processes"!??

Subsequent years found James in a variety of Universities and countries/states including Kenya, Germany,  Oklahoma finally settling in Seattle, Washington. It was here that he bought his house and met his beloved partner Warren. Together, they enjoyed their years of domesticity until Warren's untimely death in 2013. They shared a love of classical music, food and many trips to the "home-away-from-home" near Lake Tyee, Concrete.  Warren's daughter, Liz, often accompanied them on these trips and James referred to himself as "the other daddy".  After Warren's death, this bond between Liz and James continued to grow and develop. She had a very special place in his heart. James was also extremely grateful to Linda who gave him tremendous support, both familial and practical, especially in the last 3 years.

He loved his work as a lecturer at the Dept of Physics, University of Washington as well as at the North Seattle College. He was passionate about physics and loved to teach.  He was also very knowledgeable in many areas, in particular horticulture.  He spent hours selecting bulbs and delighted in his garden, every trip back home to England would involve visits to famous gardens. He leaves behind his brother, Andrew, and Andrew's family, wife Philippa, their children Phoebe and Christopher, his "other family" Linda and Elizabeth, as well as numerous work colleagues and friends.