Malcolm Willard Reed Jr. (Mac) of Edgartown died at home on April 9, 2018, after a prolonged illness. He was 86.
Born Nov. 12, 1931, in New Haven, Conn., he and his twin brother David were the youngest of seven born to Malcolm and Dorothy Reed, of Lexington and Pittsburgh, Pa. Mac was raised in Fox Chapel, Pa., where he attended Shady Side Academy and Washington and Jefferson College. After college, he joined the Army, serving in Alaska during the time of the Korean War.
Mac’s parents brought their family to the Iron City Fishing Club on Georgian Bay, Canada, for many summers. Many Reed family members continue to gather there for the summers. In July 1958, while visiting family friends who summered in Edgartown, he met his future wife, Deborah McCormick. They married shortly thereafter, in April 1959. He started his career working in the shipping industry in New York City, then in the mid 1970s, he and other family members started a coal mining business in Pittsburgh and Somerset, Pa. After retiring, he continued to be active in the coal industry as a consultant.
They raised their three children in Darien, Conn., and after living there for 35 years, decided to retire to their summer home in Edgartown, which has been in Deborah’s family for 75 years.
Mac loved sailing his Marshall Catboat, and enjoyed fishing as well. His main passion was golf; he played almost daily at the Edgartown Golf Club, where he served as a board member and was on the greens committee for many years. The EGC was one of his favorite places, and his golf games were played at a very fast-moving pace!
Mac was active in many Island groups, including Friends of Sengekontacket, Sail MV, the Catboat Association, Edgartown finance committee, and the Edgartown School committee, and he took on many active roles at the Federated Church.
He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Deborah McCormick Reed; their children Christopher Reed, Lucinda Reed Wittenberg, and Melissa Reed, who are now Island residents; his daughter-in-law Molly Burt Reed and son-in-law Charlie Wittenberg; seven grandchildren, Olivia Reed, Colby Reed, Benjamin Wittenberg, Jackson Wittenberg, Charlotte Hammond, Malcolm Hammond, and Tessa Hammond. He is also survived by his twin brother David Reed and wife Kathy of Bryn Mawr, Pa., his sisters Elizabeth (Betty) Furey of Lenox and Mary Hirt of Fairfax, Va., as well as many, many nieces and nephews.
A memorial service is planned for Thursday, April 26, at 11 am at the Federated Church in Edgartown. The burial will be private, at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Federated Church of Edgartown, Hope Hospice, or the American Kidney Fund.
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