Jean Elizabeth (Frye) Reed

Jean Elizabeth Frye Reed, 98 of Luray, Virginia, a retired educator, died on Thursday August 5, 2021 in Luray.  She was born on November 10, 1922 in Mason City, Iowa, and was the daughter of Giles Graham Frye and Marian Lucille Perkins Frye.  She grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  In 1941 she graduated from West High School in Minneapolis.  During World War II she joined the U.S. Marine Corps, where she served as an aerial gunnery instructor utilizing one of the first “computer” simulators.  While in the Marine Corps, she met her future husband, Milford Norman Reed, who was a Marine naval aviator.  They were married on August 19, 1944 in Columbia, South Carolina.

Following World War II, she attended the University of Minnesota on the G.I Bill, where she received her B.S. degree in education in 1950.  She subsequently began her teaching career in Dazzle, Minnesota.  In 1955, her husband joined the U.S. Department of State as a foreign service officer, and they traveled throughout the world.  She taught in all the countries where they lived, including, Pakistan/Bangladesh, South Korea, Taiwan, Kenya, Liberia and Morocco.  In addition to teaching, she also raised her family and performed the many duties of a diplomat’s spouse.  In 1975, she and her husband moved to Luray, Virginia where she taught at Springfield Elementary School.  In 1985 she retired from teaching.  During her 35 years of teaching, she received many accolades and honors, but she treasured the success of her pupils the most.  After retirement, Jean enjoyed caring for and mentoring her grandchildren.

Jean and her husband were dedicated members of the Lutheran Church, helping to found several congregations both in the U.S. and overseas.  For the last 46 years she was a member of St. Mark Evangelical Lutheran Church in Luray, where she served in a variety of roles, including Sunday school teacher, council member, and LCW officer.  She was active in many local community and fraternal organizations including, Eastern Star, P.T.O., Garden Club, Senior Supper Club, Town and Country Supper Club, and the Hungry 12.  She was also a member of the Mayflower Society, the Colonial Dames of the 17th Century, and the John Rhodes Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 57 years, Milford N. Reed, by two brothers, William Frye and Paul Frye, and two children, Leslie Ann Reed and Bonnie Kathleen Reed.  She is survived by three children, Nancy Jean Bauserman, and her husband, Mark of Luray, Mark Norman Reed, and his wife, Nancy of Luray, and Judy Ann Dysart, and her husband, Kevin of Woodstock.  She is also survived by twelve grandchildren, Erik Bauserman, and his wife, Jennifer, Mark Andrew Bauserman, and his wife, Aude, Martin Bauserman, and his wife, Nga, William Bauserman, and his wife, Erica, Kathleen Keim, and her husband Nash, Thomas Bauserman, and his wife, Hannah, Rachel Bauserman, David Reed, and his wife, Lauren, Anne Cunningham, and her husband, Ryan, Ryan Dysart, Victoria Williams, and her husband William, and Phillip Dysart, and by twelve great grandchildren, Noah Bauserman, Lillia Bauserman, Evelynn Bauserman, Allie Bauserman, Benjamin Bauserman, Noah Cook, Otto Keim, Archie Keim, Isaac Reed, Harriet Reed, Charlotte Cunningham, and Morgan Polk. 

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