Obituary for Gordon R. Reeve

Gordon Reeve, 69, of Spirit Lake, IA, died on Monday, April 4, 2022, at Accura Healthcare after a brief illness. A memorial service has not been planned at this time.

Gordon was born on September 22, 1952, in Durham, North Carolina. He spent his childhood in many locations including Key Biscayne, FL; Big Rapids, MI; and Terre Haute, IN. His memories of Key Biscayne were his fondest and he told his family stories of his time there often. He graduated from high school in 1970 in Terre Haute, Indiana. He began his college career at Indiana State University where he met his future wife, Peggy. Gordon married Peggy on August 12, 1973, in Washington, IN. He graduated with his bachelor’s degree from Pan American University in 1974. He would go on to receive both his master’s degree and PhD from the University of Texas, School of Public Health in Houston. His work as an epidemiologist took him to Ohio, Texas, Indiana, Michigan, and Arkansas. His only child, Kim was born in 1983. Gordon was an avid sailor and raced sailboats throughout his adult life. Most notably, Gordon raced a Flying Scot on Portage Lake with his daughter for many years. Both Gordon and Kim survived the experience for the most part unscathed. Gordon and Peggy spent much of their later years at their cabin on Bois Blanc Island, MI on Lake Huron. Gordon became a grandpa in 2015 and again in 2018. His grandsons were his pride and joy. They enjoyed sneaking ice cream cones and chips ahoy cookies together.

His family includes his daughter Kim (Oscar) Reeve DeLong of Spirit Lake; two grandsons Thomas and Henry; brothers, Alan (Judy) Reeve, Carl (Lori) Reeve; sister, Norma Wade; mother-in-law, Polly Mead; sisters-in-law Susan Mead and Julie (Mike) Churchill; brother-in-law Pete (Sharon) Mead; and several nieces and nephews.

He is preceded in death by his wife of 44 years, Peggy and his parents Robert and Shirley (Ballard) Reeve.