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John Reed left our class after sophomore year (Class 3) to attend Webster Groves High School. On or about January 26, 1962 he was a passenger in a car involved in a terrible accident on Kirkham Road. We recently received a letter from one of John's Webster classmates, who described the accident:
"John had been on a date with his girlfriend Linda Knowles and he and his friends dropped her off about midnight. The driver Vin Boydstun (Webster '61) then dropped off my friend Bob Thomas at his home on Newport (boy, was he blessed) and then the car with 3 occupants traveled south on Kirkham. It was very foggy and the car traveling at an estimated 100 mph first hit a power line guy wire splitting the car in halves: a front and a back. The driver flew out and skidded down the street several hundred feet. He survived. The rear half, with the two other occupants smashed into a huge oak tree. After the wreck I personally saw the tree and the remains of the car in the local junk yard. The compression of the rear portion of the car was shocking.
That is all I can remember.
Too bad John left us way too early."
John is likewise affectionately remembered by all of his classmates at Country Day.
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Kirk Jeffrey
Here are a few facts about a friend of long ago. John Price Reed III lived in Webster Groves. I think he attended Country Day for just a couple of years, class 4 and class 3. In February 1960, during our class 3 year, he was killed one night in a terrible car accident along Rock Hill Road. I can't recall the circumstances in detail, but I seem to remember that he was a passenger and not the driver. The others in the car were teen-agers like John. My parents and his had been friends for many years, and I remember our paying an infinitely sad visit to John's parents shortly after the loss of their son.
Like most of us at that age, I suppose, John had not really had time to fashion anything like an adult identity. I remember him as a quiet guy with a winning smile and a mischievous quality about him. In memory I can see him in in his football gear during practice. Between classes, John and I and some of the rest of you would duck into the restroom to stand at the mirror, pull out pocket combs, and do some touch-up work on our hair. I'm bald now; he never had the opportunity to reach that stage. Perhaps others can add information and impressions to this inadequate sketch of John.
Kirk Jeffrey
Lanny Jones
I can add very little to Kirk's sensitive comments. John's death was one of the most disturbing events of our adolescence, though I certainly did not grasp it as such at the time. His father, like mine, worked at Pet Inc., and for that reason I think we would see one another at our parents' parties from time to time. He was, as Kirk says, a good natured fellow with dark hair and a wide smile. I would like to find a photograph of him to put on this website.
Steve Lord
I like Krik's comment on Johns micheivous qualitiy, and Lanny's good natured comment, both sound right. I met Juhn on I think his first day in school. He had a very likable quiet personality. I liked him a lot. We all used to drive too fast in those days , even after drinking too much. I know I did. I was a maniac. I guess we thought we were immortal. Now I creep along like an old lady.
Steve Lord