Anne Reid is a resident of the Sweet Memories community at Wheatland Hills Christiansburg. As with all of our memory-care residents, the staff at Wheatland Hills took special care to gather and record her life story when she moved to the community.
Anne, who just turned 91, started her adventurous life in Durham, North Carolina as the second daughter of Ella Puryear Homes and James Quentin Davis. Her older sister, Elizabeth (Lib) Marshall, had been born seven years earlier. Despite the age difference, the sisters became and remained close companions, often travelling together even in their later years.
After graduating from St. Mary’s Jr. College in 1939, Anne took a job as secretary in the Admissions Office at Duke University. At the age of 25, Anne married Richard (Dick) J. Reid, Jr., a graduate of the Naval Academy, who she describes as “the love of my life.”
The newly-married couple moved to Philadelphia, where Dick fulfilled his first of many assignments as a Naval Officer. Over the years, the couple moved to California, Guam, Northern Virginia, Hawaii and then to the Tidewater region, where they remained until Dick’s retirement.
Along the way, the couple welcomed two sons, Richard and Jim. Both boys were old enough to enjoy and remember the family’s two years in Hawaii. Anne said it was a special time for the family - they all fell in love with the Hawaiian culture and developed a special fondness for the islands. Anne had fun taking hula lessons with friends and the family enjoyed many beach luaus.
Back in Chesapeake, Anne joined the Garden Club of Virginia, and played both Mahjong and Bridge with girlfriends. After her husband died, Anne continued to travel the world with Lib. Over the years, the sisters went on sightseeing trips to Denmark, Greece, Turkey, Italy, England, and France.
Anne has stayed in close touch with both her sons through the years. Richard, a custom building contractor and beekeeper, lives in Blacksburg with his wife and daughter, Erika . Jim, a manatee researcher, lives in Florida with his wife. Erika, Anne’s only grandchild, works as a special education aide in Blacksburg.
Anne readily shares that she has had a wonderful life and a wonderful family. Being a wife and a mother were the two most important things to her. She describes herself as a Navy wife who enjoyed seeing the
world. Now, as a resident of Wheatland Hills Christiansburg, Anne can relax in a caring and secure atmosphere.
"I feel this is a very well kept facility,” Anne said. "I do really enjoy it and I am very content here.”
