The Van Wert County Courthouse

Thursday, Mar. 28, 2024

Warren L. Reed

Warren L. Reed, 88, of Convoy, passed away at Lutheran Hospital of Indiana in Fort Wayne, Indiana, at 3:39 p.m. Sunday, December 10, 2017.

Warren was born May 31, 1929, in Wooster, the son of Lloyd and Anna (Fowler) Reed, who both preceded him in death. On March 29, 1953, he married the former Marilyn Ryan at Mentzer Methodist Church and she survives.

Warren L. Reed

He served in the U.S. Army from 1955 to 1957, stationed at Fort Huachuca in Arizona.
Other survivors include two daughters, Kathy (Rick) Geething of Orrville and Jill (Kevin) Pollock of Hilliard; two sons, John Reed of Austin, Texas, and Kent (Bernadette) Reed of Tallahassee, Florida.

He has six grandchildren, Nathan (Beth) Geething, Aaron Geething, Amanda (Aaron) Doerfler, Aubrey Turner, Danielle (Zachary) Olson, and Erik Reed; and four great-grandchildren, McKayla Geething, Reed Geething, Noah Olson, and Anthony Doerfler.

Warren was a member of Convoy United Methodist Church, where he held various offices, including Sunday school teacher, Sunday school superintendent, lay leader, delegate to the United Methodist annual conference, chairman of the Council of Ministries, and chairman of the administrative board. He was a member of the Van Wert Camp of Gideons International, and served in various posts, including president, secretary, faith fund chairman, and was a Gideon speaker at numerous area churches. He also served on the Salvation Army Board and was a member of the Crestview Bible Board.

Warren retired in 2007 after being involved in agriculture education for 55 years. After graduation from the Ohio State University in 1951, he started his career in vocational agriculture at what was then Convoy High School (later named Convoy-Union, then Crestview High School). He retired in 1982, from Crestview High School after 32 years of service. At this time, he started a new career as farm business planning and analysis consultant at Vantage Career Center, where he worked with farm families throughout northwest Ohio and northeast Indiana. He owned and operated a small farm near Convoy, where he raised corn, soybeans, and wheat.

Warren served as vice president, then president in 1971, of the Ohio Vocational Agriculture Teachers Association. He received the “State Outstanding Agriculture Teacher” Award in 1975 and the Ohio Vocational Association Outstanding Service Award in Agriculture in 1976. He received the Crestview Honorary Chapter Farmer degree, Vantage Honorary Chapter Farmer degree, Ohio Honorary State Farmer degree in 1971, and the Honorary American Farmer degree in 1980. In 2001, the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation awarded him the “Agriculture Educator Award” for his service to the agricultural industry. He was among the first class of inductees to the Crestview Educator Hall of Fame in 2013.

Funeral services will be conducted at 11 a.m. Saturday, December 16, at Convoy United Methodist Church, with Pastor Bill Thomas officiating. Burial will follow at IOOF Cemetery in Convoy, where military honors will be rendered by combined units of American Legion Post 178 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5803, both of Van Wert.

Visitation is from 1-8 p.m. Friday, December 15, at Cowan & Son Funeral Home in Van Wert and an hour prior to services Saturday at the church.

Preferred memorials: Gideons International or Convoy United Methodist Church.

Condolences may be expressed at cowanfuneralhome.com.

POSTED: 12/12/17 at 5:40 pm. FILED UNDER: Obituaries