Doreen Reed - 4/1/26

We gather today to mourn the death of Doreen Reed. The loss we feel today is real, but our goal today is to not only recognize the loss we’ve experienced, but also to celebrate the life we got to experience with her too. Both sets of emotions are real and natural—the pain of loss, but the joy of remembering her life. We desire to walk that balance today.

In the Bible, we find comfort when Jesus told His disciples,

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. (John 14:1-3, NLT)

Jesus promised that the end of this life is not the end of the story. So even as we grieve today, our grief is tempered by the hope and the promise of life beyond the grave. This is not mere “pie in the sky” thinking, but a promise from the mouth of our Savior.

So, as we begin today, will you pray with me?

Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for the life of Doreen Reed. We are saddened by her passing and by the loss that we experience. But we are also grateful for the experiences we got to share with her and the impact she made on so many. Lord, may we find comfort today not only in the memories we share, but also in the hope of the gospel. Grant us your strength and your comfort today, we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Doreen Reed was born September 14, 1935 in Fort Madison, IA, the daughter of Ben and Inez (Nolte) Pollmeier. She married the love of her life, Jimmy Dean Mellinger, on August 25, 1956, they had two children, Kay and Ronnie. When that marriage ended, she and the kids moved to La Harpe and started over. For several years, she was married to Eugene Reed but spent most of her life on her own. That forced her to become fiercely independent and strong.

Doreen was a 1953 graduate of Fort Madison High School. She was raised on a farm outside of Fort Madison where she enjoyed riding horses. She often told people that when she played the piano, her horse would dance outside the window. She loved animals, especially her dogs as well as family members’ dogs. She talked about how she loved to dance and go roller skating in Dallas City. She loved to fish; a joy she passed down to her kids. She enjoyed crocheting, sewing, and cleaning her house. In her earlier years, she worked at Sheaffer Pen in Fort Madison, Associates Financial Services in Burlington, and ultimately retired from Blandinsville Bank. She earned her Real Estate Broker license which she was very proud of. Doreen especially loved spending time with her family and attending her kids’ and grandkids’ music events and sports.

She passed away on Saturday, March 28th, 2026 at Oak Lane Nursing and Rehab in Stronghurst, IL at the age of 90.

Survivors include her two children, Kay (Rod) Burr of Lomax, IL and Ronnie (Lora) Mellinger of LaHarpe, three grandchildren, Joshua (Kayla) Gebhardt, Brickston (Nathan) Blackburn and Colton (Connor) Mellinger, four great-grandchildren, McKinley Gebhardt, Brantly Gebhardt, Carson Mellinger and Baker Blackburn; one sister-in-law, Cora Pollmeier and one nephew, Randy (Ann) Pollmeier. She was preceded in death by her parents, one brother, Bill Pollmeier, and one niece Jeanine Pollmeier.

SONG

Doreen Reed was a force to be reckoned with. While she wasn’t large in stature, she had more than enough personality to make up for it. While she was kind and loving, she was also ornery and didn’t hesitate to give anyone a hard time. And that trait was strangely endearing to most everyone who met her.

Doreen grew up on a farm and learned very early on about the importance of hard work. When she and the kids moved to La Harpe, they didn’t have much at all—I’m told that when Ronnie fell and split his lip shortly after arriving, she had to run up to the Traveler’s Inn to get a band-aid! But Doreen was committed to providing for her family, and though she was never a wealthy woman, she made sure her kids were provided for.

Part of what made this possible was that she was incredibly disciplined. She never lived beyond her means. If she didn’t have the money to do something, she simply didn’t do it. She didn’t whine or complain about it; she just recognized the reality of life. That was even true when it came to gambling. Doreen enjoyed playing nickel slots at the casino but was incredibly disciplined about it. She kept records of her wins and losses, and when she started losing money, she simply quit playing.

That discipline spilled over into many areas of her life. She was a consummate professional when it came to work. She would always dress nicely and would never leave the house without having her hair and makeup done, dressed up, and probably even wearing high heels. She felt it was important to put her best foot forward.

The same was true with her house. She loved her house, because she had been able to have it built brand new. When she built it, she did so with the intention that it would be a place she could live in even when she got old. There were no steps (beyond the two to get in) and no basement, and it wasn’t overly large. It was perfect for her, and she never felt the need to change anything. But she did keep everything in order. She enjoyed cleaning house and making sure things were done right. Ronnie used to tell the kids that they could eat soup out of Grandma’s bathtub because it would be as clean as a bowl would have been!

Doreen was also disciplined in the way she lived her life. There were certain things she knew were right and wrong. These were non-negotiables and she worked to instill that morality into her children at an early age. But there was a lot of other stuff she didn’t worry too much about, so she didn’t allow those things to bother her, either in herself or in those with whom she interacted.

An example of this was smoking. Doreen saw no issue with smoking, either in herself or in others. She actually didn’t start smoking until she was in her 30’s, and then it was mostly because her friends all smoked. I’m told that there was once a time when she was caught sitting in front of her vanity with a cigarette in her mouth. It wasn’t lit, so the person asked what she was doing. She responded that she was just checking to see how she’d look with a cigarette in her mouth.

She smoked for more than 40 years, but when the doctors told her she had to quit, she did. She dropped the habit and never returned. Just recently she told Josh that she still had a pack of cigarettes in the fridge. When he asked how long they’d been there, she said since 2008. Josh helpfully observed that those cigarettes were now old enough to vote!

I’m told that once when some of Ronnie’s friends were over, they were sitting on the porch smoking and one of the friends had developed a nasty cough. Doreen offered him some advice. Her advice wasn’t that he should quit smoking, but that maybe he needed to try a different brand of cigarette instead!

Doreen’s greatest love was her family. There was little that she desired more than just to spend time with them. She wasn’t one to go on fancy vacations or trips, but she enjoyed having everyone together. For many years, they all got together for Sunday dinner. She loved that tradition. When her mom died, that fell by the wayside, but Easter dinner was always an important time at Doreen’s house. She always had Easter egg hunts for the kids. Brickston remembers that most eggs would have candy in them, and the big eggs would have a quarter in them. Most of the family have fond memories of these Easter celebrations.

Growing up, Josh spent a lot of time at Grandma’s house. It was close enough that he could just ride his bike down to see her. They spent many hours around the table playing card games. She always laughed because Josh seemed to have a sixth sense for knowing when she was going to be making banana bread and showing up at her house in time to sample some. She was happy to share.

At Christmas, Doreen and her sister were famous for making Christmas cookies. They were delicious, but true to form, Doreen had a very specific way to make them, and it was a lot of work. One year, Brickston decided to go and be part of the process. After she saw all that was involved, she decided that wasn’t something she wanted to do ever again!

In her later years, it was much more common for family gatherings to happen at Kay’s or Ronnie’s house. She so cherished these times, and everyone knew Doreen would be the last to leave. Of course, everyone also knew she was also likely to be the last to arrive! Once she stopped working, she embraced the “night-owl” mentality, staying up late and getting up even later.

This tendency meant you had to plan carefully when to call. Generally, you would be safe to call if it was after about 3 PM. But it was also safe to call late at night. Several times when Brickston was in pharmacy school and was overwhelmed, she knew she could call Grandma and talk things through with her, because she would still be up. And she would happily remind Brickston that she believed in her and that she’d make it through.

Doreen was a huge supporter of her family. She believed in them and championed them in their education and careers. She loved going to see them in musical performances and loved getting to watch the swing choir, especially when Ronnie and Josh were in it. She also enjoyed going to various sporting events when the grandkids were participating. Admittedly, no one thinks Doreen ever came to really understand the sports, but that wasn’t necessary for her to enjoy the experience.

She also had a love for music herself. Saturdays were usually spent listening to music, usually on RFD. She loved the old country music, but just couldn’t relate to the newer stuff, so she preferred to stick with the classics. She played the organ and the piano and loved to play both. She never owned a piano of her own but did own an organ. Ronnie remembered that when he’d pull into the driveway and hear her playing the organ, he suddenly had the desire to turn around and find something else to do. But Doreen loved it. And the grandkids were always fascinated with it but knew not to touch it without asking for permission.

Doreen was not shy about telling you what she thought. She had no problem giving people a hard time or cutting up with them. Kay’s and Ronnie’s friends loved her because they felt comfortable around her and knew she would give them a hard time. I’m told there was once a time when she was in the car with Ronnie and Lora’s family after a ball game. It was late and they stopped at a drive through for some food. Doreen ordered an ice cream cone and began eating it in the dark of the car. Suddenly, Doreen exclaimed, “What the hell am I eating?” Everyone wondered what had happened, and Ronnie turned on the lights in the car to investigate. It turned out that Doreen had forgotten that ice cream cones usually have a paper band around them, and had taken a big bite that included not only ice cream and cone, but also a nice chunk of paper as well.

As she got older, Doreen remained adamant that she wanted to stay in her home. She had built the house with the intention of staying there for the rest of her life and that’s what she wanted to do. Several different times in the last handful of years, she had to go to the nursing home for rehab. But each time, she worked hard and was able to get back home again. The kids helped bring her meals most days, and most days Rod was her delivery service. They always laughed that for whatever reason she would complain about the food if she knew Lora had made it, but if they told her Ronnie had made it, it was delicious. She was ornery till the end. The family was so grateful for the many people who helped make it possible for her to live independently for so long.

Doreen was one of those people who might seem hard on the outside, but once you got to know her, you discovered she loved deeply. She cared about the people around her and understood the things that were truly important in life. As she began to think about her own death, her biggest fear was leaving behind her family, because she loved them so.

That’s the pain we experience today as well. That while we are grateful for the fact that she is no longer suffering or dealing with the struggles of COPD or emphysema, there is a real loss we feel, knowing there will be no more phone calls, no more family gatherings, no more playful jabs, and no more meals together. But hopefully we can find comfort today even as we mourn. While there will be no more of those memories to be made, there are plenty that remind us of the blessing of her life on ours.

SONG

As I mentioned at the beginning, we can find hope today, even in the midst of loss because of what Jesus has done for us. Jesus promised that for all who believed in Him and lived in Him, they would have eternal life—a life that continues even after our lives on this earth have ended.

Doreen seemed to have such a faith. She was raised Catholic, but after having been divorced, didn’t feel like she belonged there anymore. But she felt like attending a protestant church (she attended the Union Church for a time) was somehow also not right. So she found herself kind of in limbo.

But she continued to practice her faith regularly. She regularly prayed the rosary and still had faith in Jesus. Nonetheless, she feared that she might not be acceptable to God.

My hope today is to highlight something that Doreen seems to have understood well—there is more to life than just this life. Therefore, we should be prepared for what comes next. One of the chief concerns we should have in this life is to make sure our hearts are right with Jesus. Many seem to believe that Jesus will save everyone, or that if we are good enough, we’ll be able to go to Heaven when we die. But the Bible actually says the opposite. We can never be good enough to merit Heaven. It tells us that our only hope is to trust in Jesus for salvation and to follow Him. Anything else that we place our hope in will fall far short.

The good news of this is that Jesus opens the door for everyone to come to Him. Sometimes people feel as though they have made too many mistakes for God to love them, but Jesus promises that everyone who comes in faith will find forgiveness and new life. It doesn’t matter what’s in your past: whether you’re divorced, whether you’ve got a record that will follow you or a reputation that is hard to shake, or just years of mistakes that make you think you can never measure up. Jesus opens the door of salvation to anyone and everyone who will come to Him in faith.

As we gather for the death of someone we love, we are reminded that life is short and fragile. We do not know how much longer we have. We know there is coming a day when we will stand before our Lord and give account for what we have done in this life. My hope is that you will make sure you are ready. Turn to Christ and follow Him. That will ultimately be the most important, and long-lasting decision you can make.

If Doreen had such faith, then today we have no reason to mourn for her. She has been healed of all the things that ailed her and delivered from a body that had held her back for so long. Today she is more alive than she ever has been. And that truth can give us hope, confidence, and even joy as we also work through the pain of our own loss.

My hope is that you will find the hope, confidence, and peace that comes through Jesus Christ alone—and that you’ll embrace it for yourself, both now and for the remainder of your life.

SONG

As we conclude today, I want to draw some lessons I think we can learn from the life of Doreen Reed.

1. A good sense of priorities in life will guide you well. It will help you make time for family, spend time on the things that matter, and only spend the money you have. When you know what’s important, decisions become much simpler.

2. While there are some things that are really important, a lot of things aren’t. So don’t sweat the small stuff.

3. Family is a gift from God intended to be cherished and enjoyed. Making time to be together and enjoy life together is an investment that’s always worth it.

4. When you’re with your family and cheering on your grandkids, you don’t have to understand the finer points of the sport, you just need to know the people you love.

5. Often, it’s better to just say what’s on your mind, rather than pretending everything is ok. If you don’t, you might end up stuck eating the paper around your ice cream cone.

6. Simply being present, being a comforting ear, or a trusted friend is more valuable than anything else. Caring for others often makes a far bigger impact than you realize.

7. Ultimately, questions of faith and what happens when you die aren’t just theoretical. As we gather for a funeral, we are reminded that these questions are of ultimate importance, so we should each decide where we stand with Christ today.

Will you pray with me?

Our Heavenly Father, we thank you today for the life of Doreen Reed. We are grateful for the impact she made on each person here today. But Lord, we confess that we ache as we think of life without her. So today, we pray that we might find hope and comfort in the truth of the gospel, the reality of life beyond the grave, and the hope offered us by Jesus’ death and resurrection. May each of us also embrace these truths so that one day we will experience a glorious reunion in Heaven. In the meantime, Lord, we pray for your comfort. Give this family your strength as they adjust to a new normal and figure out how to move forward. Help us, we pray, in Jesus’ name. Amen.