Dr. John Reed

It is with heavy heart that I announce the death of Dr. John Reed of Oakwood Daffodils in Niles, Michigan.  John died peacefully this morning in the hospital.

Thanks to all who sent cards of encouragement, and for those of you who routinely talked with John on the phone recently and throughout the years.  Your friendship meant the world to him.

And a special acknowledgement and gratitude to Julie Martin and her daughter, Christina Wagoner, who have been providing care for John until the end.

Cindy Haeffner and I will have more details in the coming days.

Respectfully,

Jason Delaney

 

8 comments for “Dr. John Reed

  1. Thank you for letting us know Jason. One of the worlds greatest daffodil enthusiasts.

    I will miss our regular phone calls. They were always very interesting listening to Johns opinions on daffodils and life in general. RIP

    What a terrible week for the daffodil world.

    Robin

  2. A terrible shock!  Inevitable, given the ravages of his disease, but I had clung to the thought that somehow John would surpass it.

    Best wishes to Julie and Christie for all they had done to keep John and Oakwood going.

     

  3. So sad. My condolences to his family. It is indeed a sad day in the daffodil world. Please all take care. Ceci Brown, Gloucester, Va

    Sent from my iPad

  4. It is with great sorry to hear of the passing of John Reed. John gave a big part of his life to improving and creating new daffodils for us all. Having known him personally, John was a man with a big, kind heart and shared his daffodils worldwide. I will miss him so much as will all the daffodil world. Like Bob above, I kept thinking John would somehow pull through his latest problems. He had endured so many in the past. Sorrowful, it was not to be. Yes, I also express my sincere gratitude to Julie and Christie for taking care of John and keeping Qakwood going these last few years.

  5. ADS and the daffodil world will miss John Reed.  His flowers are known around the world, and will serve as a permanent memorial to him.   My condolences to Julie and Christie and his family.

  6. Thank you Jason.I am very sorry to learn of John’s passing. He and Peter exchanged bulbs and phone calls over the years. I especially remember the visit to Oakwood in 2010 as part of the ADS Chicago Convention and the hospitality that we were afforded.It’s been a very sad few days for our worldwide daffodil family.Lesley Sent from my Galaxy

  7. Many of us will miss our visits to John Reed’s for the annual big dig. His generosity helped a number of daffodil societies. I credit his bulbs for building up the Middle Tennessee Daffodil Society to the point where we could host the ADS Convention in 2018. I will also miss that weekend of the dig because it was another chance to gather with John and other daffodil friends each summer, to dig and shuck bulbs, to share a few meals, and to enjoy each other’s company. Julie and Christie, thank you for all your work through the last years as well. So sad at the loss of another daffodil great.

  8. I was sorry to hear of John’s passing, another daffodil great lost to this world. I remember being so impressed with his beautiful varieties on the benches at the World Daffodil Convention show at Saint Louis in 2016, and also those seen here on the show benches.  I see that John registered well over 400 varieties, with Division 10 and 12 the only divisions where he didn’t register any of his own breeding, a remarkable achievement.  Condolences to those he was close to.

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