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Richard Lee Reece, MD

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” — 2 Timothy 4:7

Richard Lee Reece, MD, pathologist, adored husband of Loretta Witkins Reece, cherished father of Rev. Mark Spencer Reece and Carter Straight Reece, died in the early hours of Aug. 26, in the loving arms of family in Old Lyme.

Richard was the editor of the Minnesota State Medical Society Journal from 1975 to 1990. He authored 15 books on the changing forces in medicine in the United States, most famous among them, And Who Shall Care for the Sick? He was a loyal husband for 59 years and dedicated to encouraging his two sons. He worked as a pathologist at Hartford Hospital in Hartford; at Metropolitan-Mount Sinai in Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Deaconess Hospital in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

He was born Oct. 2, 1933. Raised in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, he attended Oak Ridge High School, was class president, a star athlete in track and basketball, and a top-ranking student. The family moved to Oak Ridge because Richard’s father, John Reece, was a chemical engineer for the Manhattan Project. He attended Duke College and Duke Medical School and played basketball as a forward for the Duke Blue Devils. He had a nickname of “Footsie” because of his size 13 feet. Best of all, he loved nature and wide-open spaces, which he fondly attributed to his Cherokee heritage. In southern Minnesota, he was happiest walking in the woods and fields of a farm he once owned. He was kind, gentle, and brave. He had an excellent sense of humor which aided him when times were challenging. He will be missed.

He leaves behind two nieces, Julie Johnson and Karen Rochelle; and one nephew, Jack Agee. His brother, George Reece and twin sister, Mary Sue Agee, predeceased him.

His legacy lives on in his two boys and devoted wife who loved him to the moon and back.