Funeral services for James H. Reed, age 82, of Shelbyville, will be held 1 p.m. Sunday, June 26, 2022, in the chapel of Doak-Howell Funeral Home with Reverend Karen Jones Porter officiating. Burial will follow in Hillcrest Memorial Gardens. Mr. Reed passed from this life early Friday, June 24, 2022, at home surrounded by his loved ones after an extended illness.
Visitation will be held 4-7 p.m. Saturday, June 25, 2022, at the funeral home.
Born February 18, 1940, to the late Alice Ruth Landers Reed and Hugh Guy Reed and raised by Mary Jane and Houston Sudberry. Along with his parents he was preceded in death by: his son, Jason Hugh “Rusty” Reed; a sister, Elizabeth Reed Jones; and brothers, Thomas Doyle Reed and Dalton Lee Reed.
He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Elaine Sullivan Reed, and his daughter, Mary Lynn Reed Dickens (Jeff), and three grandsons, Jax Reed, Reed Dickens, and Jake Dickens.
James was a graduate of Bell Buckle High School, class of 1958. He worked for Golden Flake Snack Foods, Inc. for 46 1/2 years, retiring in 2012 as the Key Accounts Manager.
He umpired baseball for 30 years at the high school and college level. In the 1960s, he managed a semi-pro baseball team, the Bombers, along with coaching the American Legion baseball team in the 1960s and 1970s. In addition, he was named Commissioner of the Bedford County Little League Association for three years in the 1970s.
He also umpired softball for 30 years and was a founding member of the Independent Softball Association (ISA). With this achievement, he was designated the first Umpire-In-Charge within the ISA for the United States and held this position for 11 years. He umpired the Major Open USSSA World Series in 1982 and was inducted into the ISA Hall of Fame in 2002.
He was a registered Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) official for over 50 years officiating basketball. He worked three TSSAA State tournaments including the 1982 Girls State Basketball Tournament and the 1984 and 1985 Boys State Basketball Tournaments. He officiated 30 sub-state games, 35 regional tournaments, and 36 district tournaments. He was a member of the South Central Basketball Association. He retired from the basketball floor in 2005 and was appointed as an At-Large Supervisor. In 2017, he was inducted into the TSSAA Hall of Fame. For 25 years, he carried the chains for Shelbyville Central High School football.
He was an avid golfer and a lifetime fan of the New York Yankees and the Tennessee Volunteers.
Memorial donations can be made to Fair Haven Baptist Church Youth or Shelbyville Central High School football and basketball programs in care of Mary Lynn Dickens.
Doak-Howell Funeral Home is serving the family.
www.doakhowellfuneralhome.com
