There was much sorrow in the hearts of three loving children when they received word their sweet father, Robert E Reid, peacefully passed away on the night of July 29th, 2018 in Glenside, Pa at the age of 90 years and 11 months. Born on August 29, 1927 in Camden NJ, he was proceeded in death by his former wife of 25 years, Marjorie L Reid, the mother of his three children, and his second wife of 31 years, Anne Reid. He was the brother of 2 older sisters, the grandfather of 10, and the great-grandfather of 7, almost 8, little ones.
His children: M Dianne Reid Bleacher, Barbara L Eckel (Phillip J), and Robin W Reid (Judy Baker) have many fond memories of the man his friends and family called Bob, Bobby, Pete, and most importantly…Pop-pop. Many memories of our dad surround us…his yelling at the tv while his beloved Phillies and Eagles played, participating in his company’s soft ball teams, playing on bowling leagues with his buddies, darts in the “rec room”, his love of deep sea fishing, and bocce ball tournaments at his retirement complex. He loved playing cards, most especially pinochle and poker, and killing it at chess.
He was an avid reader, and back in the 60’s stacks of hard cover Reader’s Digests surrounded his favorite after work resting place…the couch! He loved his television and always had the latest model; we were probably the first house in the neighborhood to get a color tv the minute they were released on the market. Besides the droning sound of sports announcers, memories of the voice Boris Karloff, Rod Sterling, and Robert Stack floating up the staircase after his children had gone to bed, sweetly traumatized probably all three of us, but his eldest for sure was compelled to sleep with the covers up over her head.
He was a man of perfect teeth and perfect hair, in fact you were a wise investor if “WildRoot” was in your stock portfolio back when our Dad sported that trendy pompadour…even long after the style had faded, as he used tons of it for years to keep every hair in place. His culinary preferences were endearingly yucky…pickled pig’s feet, tripe, and cans of mackerel, sardines, and stinky tamales. Because of his love of scrapple, corned beef hash, and cream dried beef, we loved it too…as well as his delicious specialties of hamburger gravy on toast and homemade split pea soup.
He would twirl his daughters while singing “Daddy’s Little Girl”, tell us the stories of Brer Rabbit And The Tar Baby while helping us brush our teeth, and always, always was he reciting the poetry of Robert Louis Stevenson; causing us to fall in love with the beloved poems of A Child’s Garden Of Verses. Our dad loved building model airplanes and flew them until they took their final nosedives in the field across the street and was even known to have built a grandfather’s clock that stood in our dining room for years. He hung a tree swing for us in the front yard and helped us safely sled down our back hill.
He was the most generous friend one could ever meet…he would literally give his friends the shirt off his back if one of them was in need. We will always remember our father when we hear notes of the two favorite songs he played over and over again in our teenage years…Mr. Eddie Arnold’s “Make The World Go Away” and Miss Barbara Streisand’s “People”. Our father would regress and reenact the commands of his drill sergeant when getting us out of bed on Sunday mornings and mimic the loud speaker’s command from across the street of “everybody out of the pool” when shuffling us in and out of the car.
He was a member of the armed forces and served his country proudly as a Marine. He will be buried with well deserved honors at Washington’s Crossing National Cemetery. He spent his working yeas as a machinist making airplane parts for Standard Press Steel, and on the line of the pharmaceutical companies of Richardson and Merrill, McNeil Laboratories, and Johnson and Johnson.
This collection of memories, in addition to a myriad of other nuances, make up a man who can never be replaced…a man who will never leave our hearts…. the man who will forever be our father. More than anything else, to know his distinctive voice inflections and endearing laugh will be heard no more…that will be our greatest heartache.
Our greatest joy…he was a Christian, he loved Jesus, we know where he is…and we’ll see him again. ❤️ Relatives and friends are invited to his viewing on Monday August 6, 2018 from 10:30am to 11:30am at the John J. Bryers Funeral Home, 406 N Easton Rd. , Willow Grove PA 19090.
Funeral Service to follow at 11:30am. Interment will be in the Washington Crossing National Cemetery at 1:15pm on Monday August 6, 2018. The address is 830 Highland Rd, Newtown, PA 18940.
Because of the distance we will not have a procession to the cemetery but directions will be given out at the Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers please send your thoughtful donation to Access Services www. accessservices.org/donate/ Donations may be made to: Access Services 500 Office Center Drive, Suite 100, Fort Washington PA 19034 Tel: 1-800-793-2150 Web: www.
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