Max Lee Reed

Max Lee Reed

Born: January 7, 1944

Died: March 23, 2025

Max Lee Reed was the son of 'Pete' Lee Hendricks Reed and Stella Marie (Monday) Reed, born at 160 East Roddy Rd, Spring City, Tennessee on a crisp winter morning. He was the 2nd born of 4 children in order of birth: Esther, Max, Veronica, and Kathleen.

Max was a man without need for introduction. He was known for his calm, cool, and collected personality. Early on in life Max showed his intellect and ability from a young age at anything he set his mind to do (and even in those he would rather not) excelling in every category. It was often said by his mother and siblings alike that he was "Always up to something and getting into things" to feed and satisfy his curiosity and understand how they worked.

One such early account was when he was 12-13 years old his mother was out tending to other matters and he took washing machine motor out and rigged it up to a makeshift set of wheels and frame he had made to scoot around in the yard like a go-cart. When his mother had approached him seeing what he had done with the washing machine he said "Don't worry I can put it back".

When he wasn't working on mechanical devices he was equally known as an avid outdoorsman spending much of his time out romping around in the woods or on the creeks hunting and fishing near his home on Hwy 27 or up on his Grandparent's (Grover and Mini Monday) farm in Grandview, Tennessee.

Growing up he worked a series of odd jobs to make money including a paper route that he made .10 cents a week at, picking wild black berries and selling them to people a gallon at a time, and as he got a little older doing small engine repairs. With the money he had earned and saved, he at 11 years old used it buy a .22lr that he used to hunt with for many years providing a fresh source of squirrel and rabbit as a steady source of meat for the family that he took great pride in growing up.

After graduating from Rockwood high school in 1962 he began working for the Rockwood Natural Gas Company for a series of years. During this time, he was introduced by his father to his-to-be wife Judy Kay Newport, at Newport Resort (now called Lakeside Resort). Newport Resort was one of the bigger attractions between the 1960s and 1970s drawing crowds from all over the country, offering a wide variety of amenities and events, one of which was a restaurant. On one day as fate would have it, Pete visited the restaurant and noted the beauty of one of the waitresses working there and said "I've got a son I'd like you to meet." Pete then brought Max with him to visited again together, and that's where Max also got his first glimpse and the two immediately hit it off and from there the two began dating and later marrying, having two children 'Maxie' Max Grover and Charlotte Ann Reed.

With the war in Vietnam raging he didn't shirk on his civil duty to enlist and serve his country, and he along with many of his friends joined the Army National Guard where he became a tank driver then moving up in rank to tank commander. His marksmanship was also something that received recognition, and on the range, when he hit the 100, 200, then 300 yard targets consecutively with ease. It was noted that when he hit the 300 yard target with his first shot, the officer in charge noting his progress said, "That's the first time I've seen that target hit today. You must be from North Carolina." To which Max replied "Close. East Tennessee." In doing so, and further displaying to regularly being able to, it earned him badge of 'expert rifleman'.

After getting out of the Army National Guard, Max went on to take a civil service test that he scored exceptionally high on to where the FBI sent him two letters asking him to join them but as he said "It wasn't for me" as he didn't want to move out to Washington DC to work. His home was East Tennessee and that's where he wanted to be. Max then went on to be hired on for a new company to the area called "South Central Bell" where he worked for the next 30 years with a notable achievement of installing the first "touch tone" push button phone in Roane County, TN and working on the 1982 World's Fair the Knoxville International Energy Exposition.

While working at the Bell Company he also had side jobs working on people's cars, boats, and also small engine repair living on Whites Creek Rd. His passion though was building the best engines for racing, namely drag cars. He built several and he said he did have his share of losses in the beginning before he became the most dominate on and off the track, and would often talk about his 55 and 57 Chevys that he built, with the 55 being uncontested and beaten. Suffering from his own success later on he later recounted (because no one else could come close to beating him) racing against his own time and winning every week at the local race tracks in his stock class "Wasn't fun anymore" and he later sold his cars. This didn't quell his taste for it though, as he also went on to build two more cars for his son Maxie, first Chevy Vega his favorite then the Chevy Monza. With the Vega Maxie was the uncontested 'top dog' at Spring City high school and to this day holds records at the local drag strips.

In his retirement from Bell South (later AT&T at the time) he bought the old Wright farm on Whites Creek and started a lumber business, initially with his son Maxie. The business grew and provided an invaluable service to members of the community and across the country and even outside the country including exporting lumber to Canada and South America giving a very wide variety of rough cut and finished lumber for housing and woodworkers alike to choose from.

Max had a love for his family, state, and country that anyone who knew him couldn't deny. He passed away Sunday evening, March 23, 2025 at Roan Medical Center in Harriman, Tennessee at 4:13pm. He is survived by his wife of 59 years Judy Kay Reed, sisters Esther (Reed) Cheek and 'Jeanette' Veronica (Reed) Brannon, Son Max Grover Reed and his Wife Kimberly (Hood) Reed and their 2 sons Kevin Reed and his wife Jacklyn Reed and their son Clark Reed, Jacob Reed and his wife Katlyn Reed and their son Keaton Reed, his daughter Charlotte Ann (Reed) Brown and her 2 children Nathaniel Ryan Brown and Kristina Kay (Brown) Charles and her Husband Nick Charles and their 3 children Liam, Ren, and Ella Charles.

He was/is loved and very missed by his family and friends who will look to his memory with both a sense of joy and sorrow that he is no longer with us. Until we meet again.

The family will receive friends Saturday, March 29, 2025, from 12:00 noon until 1:30 p.m. at the Evans Mortuary. Funeral services will follow on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at 1:30 p.m. from the Chapel of Evans Mortuary. Private interment will be held later in the Reed Family Cemetery in Spring City, Tennessee.