Allan C Reed

Al grew up on the family farm in Cottonwood, Mn. He joined the Navy in 1973 and served as a corpsman until 1975. He then settled in Bemidji MN and attended college there. He went on a school trip to the boundary waters canoe area that sparked his interest in the north woods. He moved to Duluth in 1976 and worked as a counselor at a group home and went on many trips to the BWCAW. He met and married his wife Mary in Duluth. She had a young daughter Sarah whom he adopted and they had another daughter Sophia. They went on numerous canoe trips to the boundary waters with friends and family. They bought a piece of land near Ely on Garden lake and built a log cabin on the property. Al was diagnosed with gastric cancer in the Summer of 2023 and found out it was already stage VI. He decided to forgo chemo and enjoyed the rest of the summer seeing longtime friends and family for some of their last visits. He passed on November 8th 2023. There was a celebration of life in December 2023 and family and friends gathered to share stories of Al.