Col. Danny M. Reid

Danny was born in Marceline, Missouri on the 20th of March 1939, to Wilber Reid and Mary Betty Poe. He graduated from Carrollton High School in 1957 where he was captain of the football team and played center. He went on to graduate from Central Missouri State College and taught high school briefly before joining the Air Force in 1963.

Danny’s career in the Air Force working in aircraft maintenance brought him around the world including Libya, Thailand, the Philippines, and Japan. It was in Hawaii where he met his wife Milagros. They had their first two children, Michael and Melissa, while stationed in Illinois. It was in the Philippines where their third child, Manda, was born. He retired as a colonel in 1988 after 24 years of service. Danny’s civilian life brought him to Corpus Christi, Texas where he owned and operated a Sylvan Learning Center for more than 15 years before his final retirement. Education was always a part of Danny’s life, and during and after his military career he completed a master’s degree from the University of Southern California and another one from Corpus Christi State University. He was also in the Air War College class of 1980.

Those are just some highlights of his life. But to truly know Danny you must know these things. He loved watching sports and his favorite teams were the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Antonio Spurs. He also watched the stock market. He had striking blue eyes. He enjoyed doing the New York Times crossword puzzle but was a horrible speller. He went on a health kick later in life and would carry chia seeds to sprinkle on his food when dining out. He proudly proclaimed that he didn’t eat “foods with sugar or foods that turned into sugar,” but if there were cookies or candy nearby, he couldn’t help but partake. He did Body Pump, tried Pilates, and completed 5 half marathons in his 70s, even coming in first place in his age division. He loved that his daughter worked for Southwest Airlines so he could fly on free passes to visit his friends and family. His favorite shows included Breaking Bad and Ozark and he was a news junkie. He was a proud democrat. He could be frugal and growing up his kids had to try hard to get twenty dollars from him, but he didn’t hesitate to help those less fortunate. That was something he learned from his own father whom he idolized. Finally, Danny wasn’t ready to leave this earth and he did everything he could to still be with us.

Danny leaves behind his wife of 52 years, Milagros Price Reid; son Michael Reid; daughters, Melissa Reid and her husband John Stroehlein, and Manda Ettlinger and her husband Jason; and sister Kathy Yergert and her husband Don. He has one grandson, Luke Reid Stroehlein, whom he affectionately called “Little Reid.”

At a later date the family will gather for a private funeral service in the Post Chapel at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.