Edward Eugene "Gene" Reed

Edward Eugene “Gene” Reed, founder of E.E. Reed Construction, passed away on October 7, 2026, at the age of 92, after a long life lived fully to the end. He built a construction legacy, raised four children with his beloved wife, Patty, and spent much of his life quietly helping people who never knew his name.

Gene was born in Houston in 1934, an only child raised by his mother, Marie. They settled in Rosenberg, and Fort Bend County was home for the rest of his life. At 11 he went to work cleaning and cutting grass at Holy Rosary Church. He paid his own way through the University of Texas, waiting tables for his meals and earning degrees in civil engineering and business. He served in the Air Force Reserve, then went to work in 1960 as a field engineer at Harvey Construction. “People, to me, are friendly individuals with exact names,” the young engineer wrote. “I like to make friends and keep them.” He got the job, and he spent the next 66 years doing exactly that.

In 1961 he met Pat Labay at a church social. Her sister thought he was too quiet for her. Pat married him anyway in 1962, and for 64 years she was his partner in everything. Their faith was at the center of their marriage, and St. Theresa Catholic Church in Sugar Land was their parish home for decades. Gene served as chairman of the parish council and helped the parish build its chapel, gym, school and parish hall and remodel the church. He served on the Diocesan Development Board as well.

The two traveled the world together, but some of their happiest times were closer to home. The family spent weekends at their lake house in Lakeway, often timed around a Longhorn game in Austin, and quiet days at their place on the river in Leakey, in the Hill Country. Pat called Lakeway her “learning lab.” On Saturday mornings, Gene would make a pot of coffee, sit down at the table and walk her through the company’s financial statements. They treated each other with a respect and gentleness that everyone around them noticed, and that became the example their children, grandchildren and the E.E. Reed family grew up with.

Gene coached Sugar Land Little League softball and baseball, and he never lost his love of a good game. On the golf course he made three holes in one on trips with a close group of friends from Sugar Land. He talked about those trips for the rest of his life as some of the best times he ever had.

In 1977 he started E.E. Reed Construction with almost nothing: desks made from old doors, paper grocery bags for trash cans and a first job building cabinets for a church. That first year, a landowner came by the office to meet him, shook his hand and left. When someone asked what had just happened, Gene said, “I believe we made a deal.” That is how he did business for the next fifty years. His word was the contract, and the people he built for kept coming back.

He built his company on simple values: humility, integrity, fairness and loyalty. “Construction is a people business,” he said. “It’s about promises made and promises kept, and the bonds that develop over time.” Clients, partners and employees who worked with him for decades said the same thing in their own words. Gene did what he said he would do. He respected the craftsmen in the field and stood by the people who worked for him. Before any agreement, he asked two questions: Is it right, and is it fair?

He never spent a dollar on show, but he gave generously and quietly. He gave his time as freely as his money. His longest commitment was to Catholic Charities, which he began serving while still at Harvey. Over nearly 48 years he served and was later named an emeritus member. He served The George Foundation for ten years, the last two as chairman, and he chaired the Sugar Land Legacy Foundation. He also served on the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce, Sugar Land’s Economic Development Committee and its building and inspection board. He watched Sugar Land grow from a small town into a thriving city and had a hand in much of it, so much that some called him the Father of Sugar Land. He would have waved that off. To him, it was simply home, and he wanted it to be a good place for everyone who lived there.

At the University of Texas, where he was named a Distinguished Alumnus, he created the Marie Reed Scholarship Fund for civil engineering students, named for his mother. He asked that it go not to the top students but to students in need, kids like he once was.

When the time came, Gene passed the company to the next generation, his son Mark. He kept coming to work nearly every day, ready with advice when asked and never with orders. When Engineering News-Record honored him with its Legacy Award in 2016, Mark gave a lengthy introduction of his dad's accolades and accomplishments. As Gene took the stage he softly said “You said too much,” thanked everyone else and sat down in under a minute in his typical humble fashion.

He loved Pat, his children, his grandchildren and his great-grand children, Western art and the Longhorns. He also loved the people he worked with. Everyone knew they could sit down with Gene and get an honest read on a deal or a decision. He was a patient listener who understood risk, and he would help you think it through without telling you what to do. He clipped articles he thought might help someone and passed them along. He helped former employees start companies of their own and stayed in their corner long after. He once told Mark, “I want to be more than just your father. I want to be your friend, too.” To his family and to more people in this industry than he would ever admit, he was.

Gene was preceded in death by his mother, Antoinette Marie Reed. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Pat; his children, Denise Poynter and husband Kevin, Debbie Whitmire and husband Brett, Donna Cavanaugh and husband Ken, and Mark and Candie Reed, 9 grandchildren, and 4 great grandchildren.

A Rosary will be prayed at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, with a Funeral Mass at 11 a.m at St. Theresa Catholic Church in Sugar Land followed by lunch.

The family will have a private burial at Saint Mary’s Catholic Church cemetery in Nada, Texas.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in memory of Gene Reed to Catholic Charities’ Mamie George Community Center in Fort Bend County or Saint Theresa Catholic Church, Sugar Land, TX Building Fund Savings Account.