Deborah Reed

Deborah Reed, age 59, died Nov. 28, 2013, in the Circle of Life Hospice due to complications from the autoimmune disease Scleroderma. She was born on Feb. 17, 1954. She is survived by her husband, Walter; daughter, Sarah; son-in-law, Christopher; grandson, Jacob; mother, Mary Ann; brother, Dale; his wife, Dena; sister, Dana; brother-in-law, Jerry; nephews, Marc, Manuel, Aaron and Trent. Deborah was a multi-talented individual having traveled and studied extensively with a thirst for knowledge while her husband served in the Air Force. While living in Jacksonville, Ark., she studied ceramics. She produced exquisite bird figurines one expected to fly away along with elegant Christmas decorations to highlight the joyous season. Moving on to North Dakota, she rapidly achieved great skill in painting marvelous landscapes with watercolors and began to develop a delightful clown character, much to the joy of the local children. Moving halfway around the world to Japan, she enhanced her painting skills by studying under the Japanese master painter Kumagi and in turn shared her American knowledge with him. She became active in an American clown troupe and performed for the American Ambassador to Japan as well as hundreds of American and Japanese children. Additionally, she mastered a number of Japanese dishes under the tutelage of a friend and prominent Japanese chef and taught American cuisine to Japanese nationals at the Tokyo Electric Cultural Center. Returning again to North Dakota, Deborah continued to greatly improve her skills learned in Japan and shared her talents with local people. She returned to Northwest Arkansas in 1996 upon her husband's retirement from the Air Force and expanded her horizons. She earned an Associate's Degree in Liberal Arts from NorthWest Arkansas Community College and began working with the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History. Here she researched historical medical care and became the living historian character Aunt Herri, an herbalist from the 1860s. She studied her character's life in detail and shared that knowledge with hundreds of visitors to the museum and at special functions. She also developed and pursued a love of gardening and food preservation; she took great pleasure from canning and drying a variety of fruits and vegetables from her gardens. She was a loving and caring person who will be dearly missed. Visitation will be held on Monday, Dec. 2, 2013, from 5–7 p.m. and services with be held Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013, at 1 p.m., both at at the Rollins Funeral Home in Rogers. The family has requested that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Springdale, Ark.