Irene Reid

In the presence of her children and several caring nurses, Irene Reid, 90 years old, passed away peacefully on the evening of October 6th .

Born in Scranton, daughter of the late Walter and Bessie Wilson Goodall, after a tomboy childhood in West Scranton and Fiddle Lake, she graduated from Central High School in 1944. She put her college plans on hold and stayed home to work in Scranton to be near her parents when the family received the news in the fall of that year that her older brother Wilson, a B-24 pilot, had been killed on his fiftieth and what was to have been his last mission in a raid over Germany. Like many of her generation she lost not only a brother but also several friends in the war. Her neighborhood in West Scranton was especially hit hard with these tragedies.

Her devoted husband of forty years, Bill Reid, died in 1988 and her long-time friend and companion, Al Stevens, passed away in 2010. She was also preceded in death by her younger sister Jean Schurman, who died several years ago.

She is survived by her two children, her son, Attorney James Reid and his wife Karen of Glenburn, her daughter Leslie Patterson and her husband Mark of Endwell, New York, her grandchildren Todd Calvey, Sarah Cummings, Kipp Patterson, Matt Patterson and Lauren Reid, five great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. She is also survived by her wonderful childhood friend, Caroline Morgan, who came to visit her on a regular basis as did her other great friend Judy Schappert.

Irene had a life-long interest in history and adventure stories and was especially attracted to the early expeditions to Mount Everest. She was thrilled when her granddaughter Lauren, in 2014, hiked high in the Himalayas close enough to the mountain to take and bring back pictures to show her. She was also avidly interested in the U.S. Space Program, and loved word find puzzle books, which she was able to do even on the day she passed away.

Until her move to assisted living, she walked a mile every day around “the Point” at Lake Winola and was friendly to all she met. She was also loved in her stays at Clarks Summit Senior Living and Abington Manor, and complemented all of her nurses and staff on their hair, nails, jewelry or any other thing that came to her mind. The family would like to thank her Lake Winola friends and the nurses and staff of both facilities who treated her with the utmost care and respect and would also like to thank Dr. Stephen Jaditz for all of his kindnesses in attending to her.

The family will receive friends and relations to celebrate Irene’s life on Friday, October 14th from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Waverly Country Club, 903 North Abington Road, Waverly, PA. Irene’s favorite Hershey’s Kisses will be in plentiful supply at the celebration.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the United Way of Lackawanna and Wayne County Gift of Warmth Heating Fund, c/o The United Way, PO Box 526, Scranton, PA 18510, the Keystone College Roscoe Brown Scholarship Fund, c/o Keystone College, One College Green, Box 50, LaPlume, PA 18440, Friends of the Poor Operation Dear Santa Christmas Party, c/o Friends of the Poor, 2300 Adams Avenue, Scranton, PA 18504, the First Presbyterian Church of Clarks Summit Seasonal Farm Workers Program, c/o First Presbyterian Church, 300 School Street, Clarks Summit, PA 18411 or donor’s favorite library or charity of donor’s choice.

Arrangements by family friend Chris James of the Vanston and James Funeral Home, 1401 Ash Street, Scranton, Pennsylvania.

To share a memory or to leave the family a condolence please visit www.vanstonandjames.com

2 Comments

  1. Trish Weber Patterson

    To the entire Reid family,especially Jim,Karen and Sarah. I am terribly sorry for your loss . I am not in the area much any longer or I would be at the memorial but know that you are in my thoughts. I can never say enough about the kindness you 3 showed my family the night almost 20 years ago when my husband passed. I will never forget your kindness and I am terribly sorry that I cannot be there to support you.

  2. Ann & Stanley Petrosky

    Jim and Family,
    So very sorry for your loss. May she rest in eternal peace.
    Ann & st

Leave Your Condolences

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.