Joseph Austin Reid

Funeral Services for Joseph A. Reid, 48 of Aledo, will be Saturday at 11:00 AM at Hamlet-Perryton Presbyterian Church, Hamlet, IL. Burial will be in Sugar Grove Cemetery, rural Aledo. Visitation is Friday from 3 to 8 PM at Speer Funeral Home, Aledo. Memorials may be made to the Hamlet-Perryton Presbyterian Church; First Baptist Church, Aledo or the Aledo Park District, Baseball Division. Joe died on Sunday, February 6, 2011 at the University of Iowa Hospitals, Iowa City. Joseph Austin Reid was born on April 19, 1962 in Moline, Illinois to Edward T. & Rosemary (Wood) Reid. He was united in marriage to Gayle Close on October 4, 1986 in Hamlet, Illinois. Joe was currently the owner/manager of the Hamlet Mutual Insurance Agency in Reynolds, having joined the agency on June 2, 1997. He was elected Secretary/Treasurer of Hamlet Mutual Insurance Company on January 25, 2005. He was the fifth manager in the company's 136 year history. Joe was currently the Chairman of the Illinois Association of Mutual Insurance Companies and was a Board Member of the Grinnell Re-Insurance Company. Joe had previously been employed with Silvey Companies, Columbia, MO; American Family Insurance and Employers Mutual Company while living in Des Moines. Joe devoted his time to the community by serving on the YMCA Board of Directors and helping coach little league through the Aledo Park District. He was a member of the Hamlet-Perryton Presbyterian Church, where he has served as elder and a past member of the First Baptist Church, Aledo. He enjoyed motorcycling; snowmobiling and following the tradition of the Indy 500 with his family. His children were his joy in life and he cherished the time spent with them. Those left to cherish Joe’s memory include his wife Gayle and their children: Austin, Shelby and Connor; his parents: Ed & Rosemary Reid, all of Aledo; sisters: Vicki Reid of St. Louis, MO and Lori (Jeff) Pewitt of Columbia, MO and a brother: Bruce Reid of Mundelein, IL and many nieces and nephews.