Laura Ann Reed, 54, of Batesville, died on Wednesday, February 28, 2024. She was born on November 29, 1969, in Batesville, AR. She was of Christian faith and grew up attending Pentecostal Church services. Laura was a homemaker and loved to cook and care for her family. She was a member of the Independence County Extension Homemakers and enjoyed spending time with her canning club, the River City Canners. She also enjoyed gardening and loved working at the museum. Laura went to work at the Old Independence Regional Museum in recent years after having spent time there as a volunteer. But out of all of Laura’s hobbies and passions, the thing that meant the most to her was her family. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, aunt, niece, cousin, and friend. She will be dearly missed and forever loved by everyone who was blessed to know her.
Laura is preceded in death by her father, Ronald McAdams; her paternal grandparents, L.L. McAdams and Pauline Sample; her grandmother, Louise Furrow; and her mother-in-law, Violet (Blankenship) Reed. She is survived by her husband of more than 35 years (having met when they were 16) and the love of her life, Eric Reed; her aunt and uncle, who raised her, her uncle, Jim McAdams, and her aunt, Pat Farrar; her son, Mack Reed; her daughters, Cynthia Reed, Brianne Reed-Kolton (Marcus), and Cheyenne Moores (Joseph); her brothers, Bryan McAdams, Eric McAdams (Tasha), and Matt McGee (Jennifer); her sister, Lea Ramsey (Nathan “Frog”); her beloved grandchildren, of whom she cherished every second she spent with them, Eleanor Kolton and Syrena Moores; and several nieces, nephews, extended family members, and friends.
Services are entrusted to Willis Funeral Service of Batesville. There will be a visitation at the Willis Funeral Service Chapel on Saturday, March 2, 2024, from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. There will be a graveside service, officiated by Gene Crawford, at 2 p.m. the same day at Old Union Cemetery in Floral. Honored to serve as pallbearers will be Clint Howard, Matt McGee, Kenny Gerhardt, Aiden McAdams, Austin McAdams, and Wesley Tucker. The family would like to recognize the following people as honorary pallbearers, Marcus Kolton, Joe Moores, Alan Bufford, “Frog” Ramsey, and Jonathan Farrar. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Old Independence Regional Museum in memory of Laura Reed.
