Mona Rae Helen Reed

Mona grew up in her beloved Black Hills of South Dakota, helping her father run his appliance store and acting as a role model for her younger siblings. Still, she had time to be a high school majorette, enthusiastically participating in as many activities as possible. Mona attended the University of South Dakota, where she cultivated an entrepreneurial spirit, and became a proud Pi Phi. She loved her sorority sisters dearly and made friends for life. Throughout her entire life, she continued to join groups like P.E.O. and Junior League, but didn’t hesitate to create her own informal groups, like the F.O.P.s and the Bar Bags. She found a church home in every town she lived in, and was an active member of First Presbyterian Church of North Palm Beach, and of First Baptist Church of Asheville.

In 1960, Mona married her great forever love, Wallace B. Reed, in Waterloo, Iowa. Their relationship stood the test of time and saw them through their moves around the country. Together, they lived out their dreams of moving to Florida and living on a sailboat, often traveling to the Bahamas with their children and friends.

In fact, the couple loved to travel. Not only did they sail the Caribbean, they visited Europe, went on safari in Africa, and were known for their yearly trips to Bermuda where they hosted family and enjoyed connecting with friends. Later in life, the two moved to the beautiful mountain town of Weaverville, North Carolina, where they designed and built their dream home. Mona was a wonderful cook, and enjoyed entertaining her many friends. She had an appreciation for good food and good company, of which there was no shortage in Weaverville.

Mona loved fiercely. She believed in protecting the environment, once nearly chaining herself to a tree, and recycled to the end of her days. She was a life-long Republican, and took pride in the strength of her convictions. Even from a young age, she had a strong sense of right and wrong, and was always up for a healthy debate. She also had a passionate belief in the power of a good mani/pedi! Mona had a song for every occasion, no matter how random, and swore she wasn’t making any of them up. She could make a friend anywhere, and did-- she was known for returning from the grocery store with deeply personal stories about someone she met in the vegetable aisle. She was a voracious reader, and had an excellent vocabulary, which was a great help for her love of crossword puzzles.

She is survived by her son, Thom Reed of Hampton, VA; daughter, Anne (Chris) Romine of West Palm Beach, FL; grandchildren, Claire and Tess Romine of West Palm Beach, FL; sister, Judith Smishek of Rapid City, SD; her brother, Jon Hawks of Surprise, AZ; four nieces and nephews; one grand-niece; and one grand-nephew.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 54 years, Wally, and her parents, Russell and Marianne Hawks.

A service will be held at First Presbyterian Church in North Palm Beach, but due to the pandemic, will be limited to family and close friends. The internment will be held at a later date in Iowa.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations are made to MANNA FoodBank (mannafoodbank.org), the Waterloo Community Playhouse and Black Hawk Children’s Theatre (wcpbhct.org), and Wild Blue Sea (wildbluesea.org).