He was born in Portland on June 15, 1935, to George Walter Reed and Mary Louise Reed. He began his newspaper career in Camas, Wash.,, as the fifth man on a five-man advertising staff. On Sept. 16, 1961, he married Dolores Thompson Bartlett, who was the advertising manager in Camas at the time.
In 1965, Reed became publisher of the Itemizer Observer newspaper in Dallas, Oregon, working for the ex-governor Elmo Smith. In 1970, Reed bought a half interest in the Hermiston Herald in Hermiston and became publisher. He bought the remaining half from Marge Bartlett in 1975. The Hermiston Herald, in 1970, was a three-employee, eight-page hot type newspaper that grew to be the largest once-a-week, independently owned newspaper in the Pacific Northwest, averaging 40 broadside pages each week. Two newsmen who began their careers under Reed’s tutelage in Hermiston later went on to win Pulitzer Prizes for their outstanding writing abilities.
By 1980, the Herald and his former newspaper, the Itemizer Observer in Dallas had won first place in the Oregon Newspaper Publishers General Excellence category no less than four times. During his long newspaper career Reed was invited to the White House and met with four past presidents: Carter, Reagan, Nixon and Ford. He was a featured speaker throughout the United States on newspaper advertising. The Hermiston Herald went on to win numerous national newspaper awards during his publishing career.
In 1978, Reed and two other weekly publishers took five corporations and rolled them into one corporation that became Eagle Newspapers, with three primary stockholders: Reed, Dick Nafsinger of Hood River and Denny Smith of Salem. Eagle went on to acquire other newspapers throughout Oregon, Washington and Idaho. By 1984 Eagle Newspapers owned and operated a total of 18 once- and twice-a-week newspapers.
In 1984, after acquiring the Post Publications in Camas, Wash.,, his wife of 25 years, Dolores, died suddenly of cancer; she was 48 years old. Reed left Eagle later that year and went back to Hermiston as owner-operator of the Hermiston Herald.
In 1987, Reed married Penny Harris, the former office manager of the Post Publications in Camas, Wash. The Herald continued to be a dominant weekly newspaper in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. Reed sold the Hermiston Herald to Westcom Publishing in December of 1991.
Reed is survived by his wife Penny of 29 years; son Marc Reed of Carmel, Indiana; granddaughter Kennedy Reed, Portland, Ore.; daughter Shannon Paxton and husband David and granddaughter Jennifer Paxton, all of Hermiston, Ore.; son Sean Reed and wife Shelly, granddaughter Madison Reed and grandsons Tony and Nick Angelo, all of Pasco, Wash.; son Greg Harris and wife Karina of Olympia, Wash.; and daughter Jenifer Harris, Bob Krause, grandson Keelan Krause and granddaughter Kaylee Krause, all of Lynnwood, Wash.
A Memorial Mass will be held on Friday, Nov. 11, 2016 at 1 p.m. at Our Lady of Angels Catholic Church in Hermiston.
Please sign the online condolence book at burnsmortuaryhermiston.com.
Burns Mortuary of Hermiston is in care of arrangements.
