Dennis L. Reed

Dennis Reed, 75, of Des Moines, Iowa, and formerly of Cumberland, died Thursday, December 23, 2021, at Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines.

Dennis Lee was born on December 12, 1946, in Atlantic, Iowa, the son of Ben Evans and Beulah Rose (Pedersen) Reed. While in school he was active in the band, as a basketball manager, and as a crew member for the senior play. Dennis graduated from C&M High School in the Class of 1965. His slogan under his yearbook picture read, keep quiet and people will think you are a philosopher. Following graduation, he enrolled in classes at Clarinda Junior College and after moving to Des Moines, DMACC. At the age of 50, he earned his Associates Degree in Accounting, something he worked hard for and was determined to receive.

Dennis drove truck, worked for a landscape business and worked as a janitor. In retirement he was an evening guard at the Ruan Building in Des Moines for 12 years. He commented that he liked that shift because it was not busy and pretty uneventful besides watching the many cars that would pass by.

Dennis took a liking to computers, and over the years became an expert at Quicken. He helped a friend for a number of years with data entry and followed the development of computers closely.

In his younger years, Dennis was a member of the Des Moines Jaycee’s. He gathered with friends frequently at various places throughout Des Moines which included: at McDonald’s daily, coffee at Denny’s, Christians Alone, or as he and fellow members called it “Seasoned Singles,” and at the Central Iowa Area Computer Use Group that met in Ankeny once a week. Dennis lived at Wakonda Village, near the Wakonda Golf Course from 1966 until the time of his death.

Dennis is survived by a host of extended family and countless friends he met through the years at restaurants and groups he was a member of.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Ben and Beulah Reed; aunts, Christine Miller, Agnes Trede, Elsie Pedersen, and Lillian Headlee; uncles, Hans, William, Elmer, Emmert and Albert Pedersen; and many cousins.

A Celebration of Life Memorial service will be held at 1:30 p.m., Sunday, January 2, 2021, at Roland Funeral Home in Atlantic. Burial will take place at a later date at Greenwood Cemetery, near Cumberland, Iowa.

Roland Funeral Service is caring for Dennis’ family and his arrangements. Condolences may be left at www.rolandfuneralservice.com.