Obituaries

Stanley Eldon Reed

Photo of Stanley Eldon Reed
Stanley Eldon Reed, 59, of Marianna, died July 15. He was a lifelong cotton farmer and attorney, past president of the Arkansas Farm Bureau and a former chairman of the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees. He is survived by his wife Charlene, three children, Haley Davis and husband Andy of Little Rock, Nathan Reed and wife Kristin of Marianna, and Anna Reed of Rwanda, Africa, and three grandchildren, Anna Kate, Jack and Haven Davis. He was preceded in death by his father, Eldon Reed, and mother, Willene Austin. He was a member of First Baptist Church of Marianna, where he first came to know the Lord as a youngster. He served the church as a Deacon and for more than 20 years a youth and adult Sunday School teacher. He was a member of Gideons International. A local community service and burial will be held Wednesday in Marianna. A statewide memorial service is scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday at Fellowship Bible Church in Little Rock. Arrangements are under the direction of Roller-Citizens Funeral Home in Marianna. Stanley was a giver, freely offering his time and talents to numerous organizations that benefited others. He was a man of integrity, compassion and faith. His loss is shared by many across the state and country who knew him for his kindness, honesty and wisdom. At the time of his death, he was on the boards of Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Simmons First National Corporation, the Razorback Foundation, the Arkansas World Trade Center Board of Advisors, the Brandon Burlsworth Foundation, and the Romeo E. Short Foundation Scholarship program. Additionally, he served as chairman of the UAMS College of Medicine Advisory Board, a member of the UAMS Foundation Board, and a charter member of the Arkansas Academy of Biological and Agricultural Engineering. He was appointed to the UofA Board of Trustees by Gov. Mike Huckabee, and served from 1998-2008, the final two years as chairman of the board. He was a distinguished alumnus of the University of Arkansas, where he earned a bachelor's degree in agricultural engineering in 1973. He also earned a juris doctorate from the UofA in 1976, graduating with highest honors. He scored the highest on the Arkansas bar exam that year. He was chapter president of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, president of the Inter Fraternity Council, president of the Cardinal XX Honorary Society, and a member of the Blue Key Honor Society. He also participated in the Arkansas Law Review and the Christian Legal Society. He served Farm Bureau as a member of the state board of directors for 21 years (1987-2008), promoting agriculture, rural Arkansas and the farm families of the state. He was secretary-treasurer (1993-99) and vice president (2000-2003) before being elected president in 2003. He served five years as president, leading the organization through a time of challenging change. He was a past member of the American Farm Bureau board of directors and on the board of the Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company, serving as vice chairman from 2006-09. He also was on the board of Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company. Reed was president of Lee County Farm Bureau from 1982-84. He previously served as a board member for Baptist Health. Additionally, Reed was on the Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board, the State Support Committee for Cotton Research and a past alternate board member of Cotton Incorporated. He was awarded the Harvey W. McGeorge Award for Outstanding Service to Agriculture by the Pine Bluff Rotary Club in 2009. He held an Honorary State FFA Degree, and in 2008 was awarded an Honorary American FFA Degree. He served on the Prison Chapel Facilities Fund board of directors and received the Arkansas Children's Award from the Arkansas Sheriff's Youth Ranches in 2008. He was the R.A. Haley Memorial Lecturer at UA-Pine Bluff's Rural Life Conference in 2008. He served on the school board for Lee Academy from 1992-95. The Reed family was named Lee County Farm Family of the Year in 1984. He traveled extensively to promote Arkansas agriculture, including trade missions to Cuba, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Mexico, Turkey, Brazil, Peru, Russia, Panama and Rwanda. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorials be made to the Stanley Reed Memorial Scholarship Fund or the Reed Family Endowment, which funds worthwhile benevolent projects in Lee County. Memorials should be directed to the Farmers & Merchants Bank, 33 West Main St, Marianna, Ark. 72360. Memorials may also be made to the Stanley Reed Memorial Fund at: UAMS, 4301 W. Markham #716, Little Rock, Ark. 72205. For online guestbook and more detailed service information, www.rollerfuneralhomes.com.

Published July 19, 2011

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