James Carlton Reed

 

James Carlton Reed, 74, of Alamo, Calif. passed away March 29, 2018. Jim was born November 4, 1943. He was preceded in death by his parents, Wilton (Bus) and Virginia (Ginny) O’Brien Reed, and his brother David. He is survived by the love of his life Sandra Morea and his son James (Jay). He is also survived by James (Serena), Christopher (Jennifer), Shane (Margaret) and Ted (Megan) Ostrowski; and his grandchildren: Sean, Envy, Evany, Ela, Aleksander and Mary, and Jay’s mother Gail.

Jim was born in Jackson, Mich., and lived most of his young life at Clarklake, Mich. He attended Cement City High School where he played basketball and his team won the district championship in his senior year. Jim attended Michigan State University, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a Masters in Packaging Engineering. He also attended the University of Virginia Executive Program and Harvard University’s president’s class.

Jim was a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army and served in Vietnam. After a career with IBM, Jim started his own business called Packaging Options. He built a business shaped around his ability to become friends with both his customers and suppliers. Although he spent most of his later life in California, Jim never forgot his Clarklake roots where he and SanDee met as kids. They returned to Clarklake often over the last 18 years to visit friends and family and he called each of them every few weeks to be updated. Jim and SanDee traveled the world to see and experience new places and people or play golf. Together they built lasting friendships and great memories.

There will be a celebration of Jim’s life at the Clarklake Community Church on Saturday, August 11, 2018 at 1 p.m.