Vera M. (Goff) Reed

Vera M. Reed, 90 of Sebring passed away under hospice care at Brookdale Senior Living on Friday, July 24, 2015.  Vera was born in Colerain, Ohio on August 9, 1924, the daughter of the late Robert E. & Paula (Kehbel) Goff.  Vera was a 1942 graduate of Sebring McKinley High School; although she never stopped learning she continued to seek knowledge and the meaning of life. She studied philosophy and religion, history, art and the cosmos. After taking a class from the Dalai Lama, she embraced Buddhist philosophy.  She loved nature.  Nature was her cathedral; she tried to never hurt a bug or animal, was filled with a wild spirit, she hiked and walked on natures’ wilderness and small-town streets, up until a month before her passing. Vera worked as a handle finisher at Royal China Company, Limoges and Green Ceramics.  She was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church, was a published poet, writing thousands of poems, was a member of the Alliance Poetry Guild, where she served as a judge for the annual Ohio Poetry Competition and wrote haiku for every day of the year. (365 days)  She made ceramic engine parts for WWII aircraft at Green Ceramics, served as a delegate to two national political conventions, Chicago in 1948 and Philadelphia in 1952, she was so very excited to get down onto the hall’s floor, that she was not in the least interested that she found herself riding alone in an elevator with comedian Jack Benny.  You see, she was out to change the world and would not be distracted!  A true opera lover, she saw all of her favorite Italian operas in person.  She corresponded with PBS documentarian Ken Burns, heard her hero Carl Sagan speak, was equally delighted to attend a live concert by the Three Tenors, Luciano Pavarotti, and witness ballet by Rudolf Nureyev from the first row.  She loved attending the Cleveland Orchestra, as long as she was in the first row, in order to carefully watch the musicians and conductor. She most enjoyed her “Thelma and Louise” –like adventures with her daughter Paula, through decades of seeking new experiences.

Survivors include her daughter Paula Reed and beloved son-in-law Jack St. John of Bedford, Ohio, a sister and pal, Rose Howard, of Sebring, three sisters-in-law Peggy Goff of Leetonia, Florence Reed of Boston, Massachusetts, Jan Goff of Temperance, Michigan, several nieces and nephews and her beloved cat Dharma.  Besides her parents she was preceded in death by her husband Martin L. Reed in 1968, three brothers Richard, Paul, James and two sisters Eleanor and Betty.

A Funeral Service will be held on Thursday July 30, 2015 at 2:00 PM at Gednetz-Ruzek Funeral Home with Pastor John Dodson and Alan Green officiating. Friends may call the hour prior to the service at the funeral home.  Burial will take place at Hope Cemetery in Salem.  Memorial contributions may be made in Vera’s honor to The Dalai Lama Trust, 1228 17th St. NW Washington, DC 20036, American Cancer Society 525 N. Broad St. Canfield, OH 44406 or Alchemy Acres Animal Sanctuary 1859 Co. Hwy. 410 Salem, OH 44460. Friends may send condolences and sign the guest register online at www.grfuneralhome.com.  Arrangements are by Gednetz-Ruzek Funeral Home Sebring, OH (330) 938-2526.

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