Monday, April 19, 2010

Goodbye, Reed

I have lost a really, really good friend. Reed Schonfeldt died last night. He was, I believe, 62. Muscular Dystrophy was the cause. He was a great man.


I met Reed when SWMBO and I had a bookstore in Prescott Valley. Reed used to call on us to try to sell us some advertising in the Sun Shopper. But he loved books and he frequently spent more in our store than he ever collected from us in advertising revenue.


We used to talk about his days living in Juneau, Alaska and he always had great stories to tell. He never seemed to forget birthdays and a card would always arrive from Reed, written levelly across the top of a ruler the way he did.
He was one of the sweetest men I've ever known and I will miss him terribly, as will all of his many friends.

Reed - we loved you and we will always love you.

These photographs were taken at one of his favorite restaurants, the Prescott Pantry, which recently went out of business after many decades. It seems like everything goes at once.

And this photo was taken of Reed and one of his proteges and greatest friends, Cindy Brown.

May you go well, Reed, and may we all live our lives as well as you did.

12 comments:

  1. So sorry for the loss of your friend........:-) Hugs

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  2. My condolences to you Catalyst & to all of Reeds family & friends. My thoughts & prayers are with you. I know how hard it is to lose a close friend. Take Care!

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  3. It is always sad at the passing of great friends. It is lovely to recall the wonderful memories they leave behind, for us to savour. They leave us richer for their being.

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  4. I am so sorry for ur loss... I will pray for his departed soul... i m sure he is at a better place now.

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  5. Sorry for your loss, Mr Cat. It's so difficult, isn't it? Saying goodbye to those whom we would rather not lose. Take care :) x

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  6. I never took a photo or had a photo of Reed, and noticed just now how deep and lovely an bodhisattvic his eyes are in your photo.

    Truly, Reed is a great man. I believe he endured some pain and disappointment because he would have liked to have been in a relationship, but he became even greater by being a friend to all.

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  7. It's so sad to lose a friend and one so young too. I am so sorry for your loss. This is a lovely tribute to him.

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  8. Thank you all for your kind thoughts and words.

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  9. sorry about your friend...sounds like a good one..

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  10. So sorry for the loss of your friend. I'm sure he will be terribly missed by all.
    A wonderful tribute...

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  11. I'm so sorry to hear about your friend. 62 is way too young to die.

    Have you ever written about your bookstore days?

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