Almeda Reed, 82, Was Nurse, Avid Horsewoman

Almeda Reed, 82, died early Tuesday morning, Sept. 27, at her Vineyard Haven home, ending her battle with chronic lung disease. Her beloved feline companion, Sugar, was beside her on the bed.

Born in Oak Bluffs at the "old, old" hospital, Almeda grew up in Menemsha -- then known as Creekville. Almeda's father, Carl E. Reed, had the Menemsha Store that was not only the store and post office, but also the gathering place for fishermen from all over, especially New Bedford and Fairhaven. It was also the first place in the area to have a generator and electricity. Her dad was the postmaster although her mother, Laura E. Norton, sorted the mail and sold stamps as well as kept and rented rooms in the summertime.

There were few playmates in Menemsha, so Almeda had to find things to do for herself -- her favorite was riding make-believe horses or the wagon horse of the produce man. Polly Meinelt recalls teaching Almeda along with a few other kids to swim there in Menemsha. Almeda did get down-Island some Sundays to buy ice cream or to ride the Flying Horses, as her grandmother owned and operated the Claghorn Tavern on Cromwell Lane in Vineyard Haven.

Almeda said she always wanted to be a nurse. First she took a practical nurse program, graduating in 1942, and then went on to the full registered nursing course, graduating from Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro in 1946. She worked at the Martha's Vineyard Hospital from Oct. 16, 1946, until Dec. 20, 1982, in one capacity or another -- including in the new operating room and then as head nurse starting in 1953. Many nurses of today still remember cutting their teeth as new nurses at the Vineyard hospital with Miss Reed at the helm.

Almeda will be remembered most as a horsewoman, often riding with her close friends of Tashmoo Farm, Libby Belden and Elsie McLaughlin. She got her first real horse, Kim, in 1953. After Kim whinnied all night in the shed near her grandmother's Claghorn Tavern, she convinced Libby and Elsie to board him at the farm. A short time later Almeda convinced Dr. Butler, who owned Tashmoo Farm, to sell her an acre of land, which she cleared by herself. She then did much of the construction on the house she lived in for the rest of her years. Although she always maintained she was never a good rider, horseback riding was her freedom, as she said, "from the telephone and someone always needing you to do something at the hospital."

By those who were close to her, Almeda will be remembered for her love of York Peppermint Patties as well as for her fierce independence and crispness which hid her genuine sensitivity. Up until the day of her death, she negotiated with her caregiver for a peppermint patty over chicken salad or chocolate boost as her meal.

Preceded in death by her parents and her only brother, Rodney, Almeda dearly loved her nephew and two nieces -- Alan and Sharon of Georgia and Denise of Iowa. She had regular telephone conversations with them and even made the supreme effort to travel off-Island to Georgia several times to be a part of their lives.

A graveside service was held in Oak Grove Cemetery on State Road in Vineyard Haven on Wednesday, Oct. 5, officiated by the Rev. Roger Spinney.

Donations in Almeda's memory may be made to Hospice of Martha's Vineyard, P.O. Box 2549, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557.

Arrangements are under the care of the Chapman, Cole & Gleason Funeral Home on the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road in Oak Bluffs. Visit www.ccgfuneralhome.com for online guest book and information.