Reverend Eldon L. Reed, of Kountze Texas, aged 94, passed away at Harbor Hospice hospital on April 3, 2020.

Eldon was born in Hooks Texas, a short distance from his family home in Redwater Texas on June 19,1925 to Walter and Gladys Reed. He loved growing up in rural Redwater, surrounded and nurtured by his parents, brothers, sister, many aunts, uncles, and cousins. He was an all-around athlete, with primary interests in track and baseball. He had the talent and was a promising baseball player, but when he was still a teenager he felt called to the ministry and started his ministry at 17 years of age.

After he finished high school in 1942, he went immediately to Lon Morris Junior college in Jacksonville Texas. In 1943, he finished Lon Morris, married Mary Frances Ferguson, started an itinerant ministry in the Patroon and Cherina circuits, and enrolled in Stephen F Austin. In 1945, he graduated from SFA and enrolled in seminary at Southern Methodist University to pursue his career path as a Methodist minister. In the spring of 1948, he graduated from SMU and he and his wife Mary moved to New York where he audited some classes from Union Theological Seminary.

In early June he was accepted into the Texas conference of the Methodist Church and received his first official appointment in Kountze Texas. He tackled and achieved many goals during his six years in Kountze, which included increasing the church membership, building the present-day church, and taking a leadership role in many civic and community projects.

In 1954, he was appointed to a church in Port Arthur Texas and in 1956, he and Mary embarked on a three-month journey to the Holy Land. For years afterwards they conducted slide show evenings of their Holy Land trip in many churches in the area. Eldon served the Port Arthur church until 1958. After leaving Port Arthur, he served First Methodist churches in Winnie-Stowell, Sweeny, Marlin, Houston, Angleton, and Nederland. He retired the first time in 1985, but it was a short-lived retirement and he was assigned to the First United Methodist Church in Wildwood where he served until 1994. His last official placement was as an associate pastor of First United Methodist Church in Beaumont, Texas in 1996 and he retired from there for the final time in 2001.

In 1974 the Big Thicket National Preserve was established. Eldon and Mary advocated for many years prior to 1974 for this preserve to come to fruition and Eldon had the honor of delivering the invocation at the dedication ceremony.

In 1979 Eldon trained for and ran a marathon in Houston Texas and was later dubbed the Marathon Minister.

While living in Wildwood in the years 1987-1996, Eldon and Mary built bluebird houses and established the bluebird trail in their area. Many of these are still standing today, continuing to shelter bluebird families.

On July 18, 2003, Mary, his wife and companion of nearly 60 years died after a lengthy illness. Two years later in August 2005, Eldon married Christine Harrell and they spent the next 14 and a half years in a loving and dedicated marriage. Together they enjoyed their blended families and church related functions with many mutual friends and colleagues.

Eldon was a man who walked his talk and was an idealist as well as a practical man. He was a staunch and passionate supporter of human rights, which included civil rights, women rights, and LBGQ rights. He championed these causes long before the mainstream population got on board. He was a visionary and had the ability to get people connected and mobilized. Eldon demonstrated, in his daily life, his firm belief in the fundamental worth and dignity of every human being.

He was a family man and loved his family above all else. He loved wildflowers, sunsets, nature, tennis, and cracking a corny joke. He leaves a big legacy of his faith, his passion for life, his love for the United Methodist church, his family, and his friends.

He is survived by his wife Christine Harrell Reed, his brothers Kenneth and Cecil Reed, his sister Wanda Wilson, his four children Janice Reed, Ralph and his wife Becky Reed, Dr. Joyce Reed and husband David Sheffield, and Rev. Dr. Ray Reed and partner Vinh LeDang, his five grandchildren, Hafida, Arabah, Erin, Caleb, and Katie, and his three great grandchildren, Ephram, Kamilah, and Tatianna.

A private graveside service will be held at Village Mills Cemetery and a Celebration of Life will be held at the First Methodist Church in Kountze, Texas, to be announced at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, please consider contributing to one of his favorite causes: The Big Thicket Association ( https://www.bigthicket.org/ donations) Reconciling Ministries of the United Methodist Church ( https://rmnetwork.org/ ) or donate online to M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.