Arizona Obituary Archive

Search      Post Obituary


John (Jay) (Reed) Whetten

Posted 2016-07-21 by Sharla
The Eastern Arizona Courier,
Safford, Arizona ~ February 24, 2008

John (Jay) Whetten Reed, 28, passed away Saturday, Feb. 16, 2008, of cardiac arrest at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Funeral services were held in Silver Spring, Md., on Feb. 21, with a memorial service and interment in Safford at the Artesia Cemetery on Feb. 23.

Jay was born Feb. 10, 1980, in Washington, D.C. In spite of the many health challenges he faced, Jay lived a very productive life, being an inspiration to many. Those who knew him well will especially miss his sense of humor, determination, fight and strength. He loved life, his family and friends.

He lived his entire life in the Maryland/D.C. area, where he was also able to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was a member of the American Meteorological Society, National Environmental and Meteorological Asso-ciation and American Association of Geograph-ers. He received the Youth Achievement Award presented by the National Council on Communicative Disorders.

Jay received his bachelor’s degree in geography/GIS and computer cartography from the University of Maryland in 2004, where he also received an additional honor of being placed on the Dean’s List. He went on to receive a master’s degree in geography in 2006. He then worked for the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission as a GIS specialist.

Jay’s interests were, in his own words, “friends, family, music, cars, baseball, basketball, movies, weather, maps and history.” He made a list of people he would like to meet: “my ancestors who lived in the Old West, Abraham Lincoln, previous church leaders, Martin Luther King Jr., JFK, Roosevelt, Robert E. Lee, Cal Ripkin Jr., Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Jackie Robinson.” One of the highlights of his life was to be present when Cal Ripkin Jr. broke the streak of sequential games played.

He is survived by his parents, Whetten and Diana Reed; his sisters, Tanya Lindquist, Layce Reed and Sonia Smith; grandmother Vernelle Reed of Safford; brothers-in-law Rex Lind-quist and Spencer Smith; and three adored nephews, Gabriel, Camden and Ethan. He will also be missed greatly by his many cousins, aunts, uncles and devoted, loving friends.

It was truly a privilege to have Jay as part of our family, and we feel blessed to have cared for him and fought the battles alongside him.

What an example to all of us. Although he will be missed immensely, we know he is now free from the pains and sufferings he endured for so long. From Jay’s journal dated May 12, 1998, “I do not fear tomorrow for I have seen yesterday and love today.

See Also: Find A Grave




Note: These obituaries are transcribed as published and are submitted by volunteers who have no connection to the families. They do not write the obituaries and have no further information other than what is posted within the obituaries. We do not do personal research. For this you would have to find a volunteer who does this or hire a professional researcher.

Questions About This Project?