Thomas Dwight Reed

Thomas Dwight Reed passed away peacefully at the age of 83, surrounded by family in Sarasota, FL on on August 15, 2025. Born in 1942 in New York City, Tom spent most of his childhood in San Diego, CA where he began his lifelong passion for sports and sailing. Moving to Des Moines, IA, Tom attended Callanan Junior High and Roosevelt High School where he excelled at sports, playing both football and basketball. Tom went on to University of Kansas where he continued to play football and basketball and graduated with BA and MA in education. After a short teaching period in Wichita, KS, Tom returned to Des Moines to teach and coach at Roosevelt High School for the next thirty years. In 1995, he retired from teaching and moved to Siesta Key, FL with his wife Sally and stepdaughter Kelley. Throughout his long career as a high school physical education teacher, high school swimming, tennis and football coach, age-group swim coach, and self-employed swimming instructor, Tom had a rich legacy of impacting the lives of children of all ages and the community of Des Moines. As a swim coach, he had many championship swimmers, a state championship team, and was ultimately inducted into the Iowa High School Swimming Coaches Hall of Fame. In his retirement in Sarasota, Tom and Sally spent nearly 15 years passionately running a charter sailing business aboard “Key Breeze”, a meticulously maintained 41-foot Morgan sloop. Tom enjoyed racing sailboats, ocean sailing journeys with family and friends, and made many long camping trips across the country, sightseeing, visiting national parks, and spending time with his children, grandchildren, friends and family. Tom had a remarkable kinetic energy that kept him busy throughout his life, building big dreams, setting goals, and bringing those dreams into existence. Through his coaching, teaching, and mentoring, and by his own example of hard work and dedication, Tom inspired his children and grandchildren, and thousands of his students and athletes to achieve their own successes. He continually exemplified one of his favorite quips: “You’ve gotta do the gotta-dos before you do the wanna-dos”. Tom’s biggest impact in life was on his family. He will be remembered as a supportive and loving father, a good listener with a excellent sense of humor, never at a loss for stories of experiences from his own life. As a grandfather, Tom was involved in his grandchildren’s lives, valuing one-on-one time with each of them, and enjoyed knowing them at each stage of their lives. As a husband, Tom was a wonderful partner in life to Sally, squeezing more into nearly 30 years of marriage than most experience in a lifetime. Tom was preceded in death by his mother Edith Hind Reed, father James Dillingham, adopted father Henry Reed, son David Dillingham Reed and stepdaughter Kelley Rodriguez. He is survived by his beloved wife, Sally, sister Martha Lewis, his children James Reed and Megan Johnson, and stepchildren Dustin Johnson, Eric Templeton, Kirsten McGuire, and Megan Claypool. Tom is survived by seventeen wonderful grandchildren: Lainey, Beau, and Dane Johnson, Calvin Reed, Jack and Hattie Johnson, and George, Amelia (Millie), Frances, and Luisa Rodriguez, Margaret and Erika Templeton, Joe and Cory McGuire, Kate, Finn and Henry Claypool. Any charitable donations in Tom Reed’s name can be made to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation and Wounded Warrior Project.

Tributes

Thomas Dwight Reed

August 15, 2025