Bruce Reeder, Sr.

Bruce Lindbergh Reeder, Sr., 90, of Frederick passed away Thursday, March 2, 2017 at Sunrise Assisted Living in Frederick.

He was born October 20, 1926 in Middletown, MD, he was the son of the late William and Hattie (Bowlus) Reeder.

Bruce served in the United States Army in 1945 at Camp Croft, SC where he completed basic training. He was then medically discharged in 1946 having served in WWII.

He graduated from Frederick High School in 1943 and from Pennsylvania Military (now Weidner) College in 1945 and obtained the ASTP requirement engineers degree.

Bruce was employed from 1947 to 1948 as a State Police Clerk, from 1945 to 1955 as a Waterman Steamship Corp., Commercial Agent, from 1955 to 1990 at the Price Electric Corp/Airpax Corp, retiring in 1990 with four patents issued in his name, from 1966 to 1990 at Reeder Bail Bond (with wife Odette). From 1990 to 1998 he served as a Frederick County Commissioner and was liaison to Frederick Co. Roads Board from 2002 to 2006 was the Frederick County Commissioner liaison to Dept. of Aging.

He was involved in many capacities locally including the Optimist Club of Frederick serving as President from 1958 to 1959, was a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Frederick Elks Lodge, American Legion, Frederick County Fish & Game Association (Camp Kanawha), was a Life Member of Junior Volunteer Fire Co. #2, Life Member of Jefferson Volunteer Fire Co., served on the Board of Directors for Penn Lauren Girl Scouts and on the board for Frederick County Daybreak for 10 years. He received the Frederick High School District Alumni Award in 2011.

Bruce was a member of the State Central Committee from 1974 to 1986 and was Chairman from 1978 to 1982. He was a member of the MD Hunters Joint Venture from 1983 to the present serving as President from 1983 to 2005.

Bruce was devoted to his family, his friends and to the citizens of Frederick County. He was a gentle man with a soft voice and shared his values and smile with those he touched. He loved politics and you never could tell he was a politician because he had a way of talking to people's hearts. He was an avid bowler, hunter, bridge and pinochle player and raised his family with the love of growing all kinds of vegetables on his farm. Annual family summer vacations at Ocean City were special and he was the first one up to get donuts and had a famous saying of "lets hit the beach" early when everyone wanted to sleep. The weekend long bowling picnics at his cabin on the Monocacy were legendary which included lots of crabs, beer and playing liars poker all night long. Every fall Bruce looked forward to heading to the mountains of West Virginia where he shared a hunting property with some of his life long friends to deer hunt. He loved Orioles baseball and attended 60 opening day games in a row and cherished his relationship with Oriole players Curt Motton and Elrod Hendricks. He knew and loved Frederick County. On the roads board he said he knew the name of every road in the county and his family would quiz him just to make sure. His devotion to the seniors, fire and rescue, businesses, and those in need in the county goes without saying. Sharing time with his family was everything to him and he took everyone on a cruise to celebrate his 40th and 50th wedding anniversary. The loss of his daughter, Detty, never left him and losing his wife, Odette, in 2014, the love of his life, left a void that could never be healed. His cat, Smokey, was his buddy and lived with him at Sunrise. Special thanks to Sunrise Assisted Living and Carroll Hospice for all of the loving care they provided to him and also his home caregivers, Joann, Cheryl and Daysi.

He is survived by three children, Bruce Reeder, Jr. and wife, Jan, Susan Reeder Jessee and husband, Lawrence, and Chuck Reeder and wife, Yvonne; seven grandchildren, Bonnie Gibbon (husband Myles), Clayton Reeder, Matthew Jessee, Bradley Reeder, Emily Jessee, Alexis Reeder and Aaron Reeder; and two great-grandchildren, Aeryn and Connor Gibbons.

Bruce and Odette's eldest daughter, Detty, was murdered in 1977. He was also preceded in death by his brother and sisters, Joe, Atlee, Quentin, Page, Richard, and James Reeder, Ruby Quandt, Gladys Sigler and Dorothy Tigner.

The family will receive friends from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday, March 5, 2017 at the Stauffer Funeral Home, 1621 Opossumtown Pike in Frederick.

Funeral services will be held 10 a.m. Tuesday, March 7th at the Evangelical Lutheran Church, 31 East Church Street, Frederick with Rev. Douglas P. Jones and Deacon Michael O'Donnell officiating.

Inurnment will be private and at the convenience of the family at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Frederick.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made Meals on Wheels of Frederick, Carroll Hospice or Evangelical Lutheran Church.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Stauffer Funeral Home in Frederick and Stauffer Crematory, Inc. Expressions of sympathy may be offered to the family at www.staufferfuneralhome.com.