MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2016 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) McMahan, Barnett, Blackwell, Blount, Browning, Burton, Dearing, Frazier, Horhn, Jackson (11th), Jackson (32nd), Jolly, Jordan, Kirby, Moran, Parks, Simmons (12th), Stone, Tollison, Wilemon
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION MOURNING THE PASSING OF MISSISSIPPI EDUCATION CHAMPION AND COMMUNITY BUILDER JACK RAYMOND REED, SR., OF TUPELO AND EXTENDING THE SYMPATHY OF THE LEGISLATURE TO HIS FAMILY.
WHEREAS, Jack Raymond Reed, Sr., the Tupelo businessman who rallied support for public education in Mississippi, passed away on January 27, 2016, at the age of 91. "Mississippians have lost one of the most preeminent citizens in our long history," United States Senator Roger Wicker stated; and
WHEREAS, few individuals have positively impacted the State of Mississippi like Jack Raymond Reed, Sr. A lifelong resident of Tupelo, Reed earned degrees from Vanderbilt University and New York University before returning to a life of business and service in his home state; and
WHEREAS, a veteran of the United States Army who served in Australia and Japan during the Second World War, Mr. Reed made a career in business, managing Reed's Department Store and Reed Manufacturing Company. Reed was instrumental in building the Community Development Foundation, focused on regional economic development, and the CREATE Foundation, Mississippi's first community foundation. As a successful business leader, Reed had a strong impact on the growth of Tupelo, but his legacy goes much farther; and
WHEREAS, efforts to desegregate schools in the 1970s challenged communities across Mississippi, but Reed courageously supported public education in his community and throughout the state. Governor William Winter acknowledged Mr. Reed's commitment to public education by naming him Chair of the Special Committee on Public Education, which laid the groundwork for the historic Education Reform Act of 1982; and
WHEREAS, he later Chaired Mississippi's first lay State Board of Education from 1982-1987, and was tapped by President George H.W. Bush to head the National Advisory Committee on Education Research and Improvement. His commitment to public education figured prominently in his campaign as the Republican nominee for Governor in 1987. The Mississippi Association of Partners in Education Winter-Reed Partnership Award was established to honor the unique bipartisan relationship forged by Governor Winter and Jack Reed; and
WHEREAS, active in the United Methodist Church, Reed served on the United Methodist National Commission on Religion and Race with then-Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) Chairman Joseph Lowery and other Civil Rights figures. He is a former member of the Millsaps Board of Trustees, past Chairman of the First United Methodist Church in Tupelo, and was among the founders of LIFT, Inc., one of the first community services agencies in Mississippi and home of Tupelo's Head Start Program; and
WHEREAS, Jack Reed was a person of eloquence and a complete mastery of the political and economic development process whose strong, decisive leadership has built an indelible legacy of progress in his beloved State of Mississippi; and
WHEREAS, he is survived by his four children: Jack, Jr., (Lisa), who is on the MEC Board of Directors and previously served as Tupelo's Mayor, Camille Sloan (Crofton), Catherine Dale Mize (Paul) and Scott Reed (Annette); twelve grandchildren: Frances Clayton, Kirk Reed Forrester (Tate), Claude Clayton, III (Roxie), Jack Reed, III (Ashley), Paul Mize, III (Bonnie), Bennett Mize, Dakin Reed, Lilla Reed, Rollin Sloan (Spring), Shipman Sloan (Anna Kathryn), Spencer Sloan and Crofton Sloan, III; ten great-grandchildren; his business associates, Lex Jackson (Judith) and Clyde Biddle; and all of his loyal and appreciated fellow employees at Reed's; a special friend, Mary Catron; and special friends, Willie Pierce and Peewee Warren; as well as later-in-life caretakers, and many, many friends and relatives who made his life a wonderful journey. Jack served as a leader for public education and we pay tribute and cherish fondly the memory of this most public-spirited citizen of Mississippi:
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to the surviving family of Jack Reed, Sr., forwarded to the State Board of Education, the Mayor and Board of Aldermen of Tupelo, the Office of the Governor, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.