Remembering Ed Reed, Sr.

Enid (Uhrich) and Ed Reed Sr. received the Captain Ransom J. Arthur, M.D. Award for their volunteer work in continuing the Records and Top Ten compilations after Ted Haartz was elected chairman of Masters swimming. Enid maintained all of the women’s records, Top Ten, and relay times while Ed did the same for the men.

Reed, age 89, from Waltham, Mass., died on Saturday, September 27, 2008 at the Lasell House in Newton, Mass. He is survived by his wife Arlene and seven children. Ed was born and raised in Taunton, Mass., and  graduated from Harvard University in 1940. After graduating from Harvard, Ed served in the United States Army during World War II with the rank of captain. Following his military service, he worked for the Raytheon Corporation until his retirement and lived in Waltham, Mass, for more than fifty years. Ed was a charter member of the New England Masters Swim Club. Ed served as the National Top Ten Recorder, along with Enid Uhrich and Ted Haartz, from 1974 through 1976. He became the Men's National Top Ten Recorder for the 1977 SCY and LCM Top Tens and held that position through the 1979 SCY and LCM Top Ten Publications.

He received the prestigious Ransom J. Arthur Award in 1980 along with Enid Uhrich in recognition of their contributions to Masters swimming.

September 30, 2008

Ted Haartz recalls Ed Reed, Sr. "He was a recreational swimmer at the Waltham Boys' Club in the 1970s when I met him. His son, Ed Reed, Jr. had graduated from Springfield College and assumed the head swim coach duties at Tufts University in Medford, Mass., where Ed and I were working out. Ed Reed, Jr., Hal Onusseit, Warren French (then coach at the Boy's club) and I drove to Amarillo, Texas in May of 1971 for the second national Masters meet. Ed Sr. was a Harvard grad working for Raytheon in a financial capacity and put in his working lifetime with them. Ed Sr. became Boys' Club/Masters relay fourth with Bill Uhrich at backstroke, me (Ted) at breaststroke, Hal at butterfly and Ed at freestyle. We four also made up the 45+ free relay in those days for NEM. Ed was also a charter member of the New England Masters Swim Club formed in 1973. Enid Uhrich and Ginny Stephanos were also prime movers in forming NEM.

At the time of Hal Onusseit's death, Hal was compiling the Masters records and Ted was doing the National Top Ten. For the next year or so Ted did both and then prevailed upon Ed to take over the men's Top Ten and Enid Uhrich the women's. They did this until Walt Reid took over. Some time later, Ed was involved in a vehicle accident which hampered his ability to swim fast. He continues to swim recreationally, but has not been competing in Masters since the 1980s. He and Enid were awarded the Ransom Arthur Award for their contributions to Master's swimming in 1980."

Thanks, Ted, for your recollections. July 21, 1998