Long term Hot Springs resident R. Reed Williams died on Tuesday, April 28 in Millboro, VA.
Reed was a loving son of his beloved Bath County. Born July 10, 1955, he was of the sixth generation of the Williams family to reside in Bath County, VA. His ancestors were landowners in the county as early as 1830.
Reed’s parents, Jack Williams and Joanne Hash, were married in the Hot Spring’s Episcopal church. His mother came to the town as a schoolteacher from Bedford where she met and fell in love with the town’s pharmacist, Dr. Jack” Williams. Reed remembered an idyllic, picturesque, and nurturing childhood filled with parties, bicycles, fishing, and camping. Reed harbored a deep love of home and the natural beauty of Bath County. He recalled, “Everything we needed was here.”
Reed was one of four children including his older brothers, Allan and Lee, and twin sister, Ann. Reed made lifelong friends among his 25 Bath County classmates. He went on to attend Christ Church School, Virginia Tech and Pace University where he received a bachelor’s degree.
Reed had a natural aptitude for mechanics and math. Both of his grandfathers were engineers. His paternal grandfather designed power plants in Cuba. His maternal grandfather was head engineer for the bridges built along the Blue Ridge Parkway.
From an early age Reed was entrepreneurial. Even as a young boy he wanted to work. “If it was snowing, I’d walk around with a shovel. If the leaves were falling, I’d walk around with a rake. If someone asked for help, I always said, yes.” One early entrepreneurial endeavor had Reed launching a maintenance service for luxury sports cars which morphed into high level renovation on historic townhouses while the brothers entertained artworld luminaries from Allan’s work with the Schlumberger family.
In 1983, Reed relocated to Columbus, Ohio. There, he met and married Lynda Elizabeth Dumaree and obtained his MBA from Ohio’s Capital University. It was there that Reed had another opportunity to apply his entrepreneurial skills, this one to solve a problem for FedEx which needed an efficient way to wash their large delivery trucks. He successfully designed a problem-free, automated truck washing system which guaranteed 24/7 uptime. Thus, RRW Engineering was born, eventually expanding to seven FedEx facilities across the country and adding additional customers as the years went by.
Reflecting on his success, Reed remarked, “I never wanted to be big. I only wanted to be good.”
In 1987, son Ryan Allan Williams was born and would become the love of his father’s life. Ryan was the child any father would dream of –a scholar, a passionate hockey player, aviator, and motor cycling enthusiast. As a graduate of The Culver Military Academy, Ryan received the class of 2006 award for best all-around cadet. Tragically, on April 11, 2011, as a 23-year-old engineering student at Ohio State, Ryan was killed in a motorcycle accident. This was a turning point for Reed, who left Columbus and returned to Bath County in 2017 to look after his aging father.
Reed’s return to his place of birth was welcomed by old friends and new. He was much-loved in his hometown. One friend nicknamed him Moses because, “Reed could calm any storm and always move people forward to a better place.”
A month before his death, Reed looked back. “I have always felt grateful. Life has been very good to me. There seems to have been a warmth of experience everywhere I went. But this place, Bath County, is literally magical.”
Reed is survived by his sister Ann, ex-wife Lynda, and many devoted friends and neighbors.
Memorial Contributions may be made to Millboro Area Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 295, Millboro Virginia, 24460 or Doris L. Via Cancer Fund, P.O. Box 174, Hot Springs, Virginia 24445
There will never be another one like Reed. He was his fathers son for sure. A very special man who understood what matters in life is the richness of relationships & helping others, not what is in your pocketbook.
Honored to say he was a friend and that I got to work with him over 20+ years. He simply made others (including me) better and he will always be with me in spirit…What would Reed do? is something I continue to say to the end of my days.
Perfectly well said. I couldn’t agree more
Thanks so much Kevin. He felt the same way about you!
….Winnie the Pooh said “How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard” This could have easily been written with my dear friend Reed Williams in mind. Although a bit slender, Reed was truly a giant of a man in every respect. His beloved father was instrumental in imprinting him with the wisdom to always do the right thing and live by the Golden Rule in life. Throughout Reed’s life, his character mirrored his reputation as a man of generosity to a fault, a man of honesty and kindness that knew no equal. He learned early that the legacy he would leave on Earth would not depend on the size of his bank account, or of his home, the value of his possessions, or years of education, or honors, or resume….but rather on how he treated everyone. He never took anyone’s dignity away. He always left people feeling better about themselves with his warm presence, his generous thoughtful words,……words that would ring in their hearts and heads for years of those he befriended,….. words that would become fond memories to be passed down through the years. If I were to sum up the greatest gifts left to us by Reed, they would be this:…..first,….he was a model of kindness, integrity, and honor as to how we should conduct our lives,….and second,.he was a model of courage, grace, and dignity in not only showing us how to live, but also how to die……Priceless gifts that will be long remembered for generations by all those he touched…. And so in considering Winnie the Pooh’s comment on the difficulty of losing something unique and irreplaceable…..is why saying goodbye is so hard……Reed Williams is that something….a true unicorn!…a one of a kind friend who will never be equalled in this life. His family would have been so very proud. …..Adieu, my friend, Adieu
I’m so sorry I couldn’t be with you today to celebrate Reed. I had commitments I couldn’t break, but I
wanted to share with you the man I knew for 42 years.
We met in 1984. I was in the travel business and chartered motorcoaches with America Interstate Tours,
owned by the Hash Family (Reed’s Uncle Bill, Aunt Teddy & Cousins Bruce, Kitter & David). Reed had come
to Columbus to help his Uncle Bill with a project. We met at an event and he took me on our first and only
date…to the Blue Danube on OSU’s campus. A standing joke in our relationship…he took me to a biker bar
for our one and only date! And we STILL married in 1987!
Who was Reed:
Reed was creative ‐ an artist, musician and engineer.
Intelligent ‐ a genius in so many ways ‐ an inventor and a big picture guy
An absent minded professor ‐ ALWAYS losing his phone and wallet (so many stories & not enough
time to share!)
He was Mechanical ‐ he could “McGyver” anything.
A Philanthropist ‐ he gave, many times to the detriment of our family finances. Money was never his
driver… Money was just a tool to give to others.
Sense of Humor… TRULY his greatest gift and one that I cherished. Laughter was always in our day.
He was a story teller with the fish getting bigger in each version of the story! I honestly believe he
had to be related in some way to Steve Martin….he looked like him and his mannerisms were the
same! Even today…I watch Steve and giggle, because I see Reed on the screen!
Teacher ‐ He shared his wisdom and life lessons to help elevate those who needed them ‐ and even
those who didn’t want them!
A friend. He truly loved many …..and was loved by so many.
And he was a great Dad to Ryan. Period.
RRW Engineering began in our driveway. Reed built his first truck wash under a tarp and then installed it at
the FedEx Ground location in Grove City. He designed the wash as if it was built in a “3rd world country,”
knowing that if designed it this way, replacement parts would be easily accessible no matter where he was.
He could just run to the Depot. As the business grew, Reed installed and serviced the site locations and I
worked alongside him as his administration department, bookkeeper, customer service, marketing
department, travel agent, etc. I teased Reed when we divorced that he had to replace me with 5 people!
Ryan, also worked with us. He helped with technology, photography and installations. A fabulous time in our
lives…building a business together as a family.
We were blessed with a beautiful child…for 23 glorious years. Ryan, our precious boy, rode to heaven on
April 14, 2011. A tragic and heartbreaking day. It is true…your heart can break. Grief…is a personal journey.
NO one has the same path. Reed and I both struggled. He coped by leaving both physically and
emotionally…he simply worked. And I lived the emotional grief of putting Ryan’s life into boxes. It was hard
on us and certainly the marriage….and we separated.
And then, Reed was diagnosed with cancer. We reconnected and have spent the past 5 years talking
multiple times a week, as well as visits between Virginia and Ohio. We talked about everything…parents,
family, grief, death, Ryan, legacy and more. We shared laughter and tears. And we agreed we would be
buried as a family in Ohio, where we shared life and love.
I am so grateful for the life we shared. To my dear husband. May you celebrate by raising a glass in heaven
with Ryan! Boy…I truly hate missing a party….Please save a glass for me. Much love to you Reedybug.
Lynda
That was simly beautiful. You were there with us in spirit!