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Reed Jarvis
Reed W. Jarvis of Seattle, Washington, formerly of Westhampton Beach, died on Sunday, April 1. He was 79.
Mr. Jarvis was the son of the late Leonard and Catherine Jarvis of Westhampton Beach. After graduating from Westhampton Beach High School in 1951, Mr. Jarvis joined the U.S. Navy and served in the Korean War aboard the USS Wisconsin.
After he was discharged from the military in 1955, Mr. Jarvis attended the State University of New York at New Paltz and graduated with a degree in art education in 1958. He later attained his master’s degree in public administration from City University in Seattle. He taught in Hyde Park, New York, for three years and then joined the National Park Service in 1961. Park Service assignments took him from Hyde Park to the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and then to Washington, D.C., where he worked in the White House for Vice President Hubert Humphrey.
In 1966, Mr. Jarvis transferred to San Francisco where he specialized in planning many new parks. In 1971, he transferred to Olympic National Park in Washington and served as assistant superintendent for eight years. In 1979, he was assigned as the first planner and manager of Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve on Whidbey Island in Washington. After 33 years of service, Mr. Jarvis retired in 1994 as chief ranger of the Pacific Northwest Region.
While employed by the National Park Service, Mr. Jarvis continued his military career, serving in both the Air Force and Army reserves, and the Washington Army National Guard. His National Guard unit was mobilized for Operation Desert Storm and he retired as command sergeant major in 1992. He subsequently accepted a commission in the Washington State Guard and retired as colonel having served a total of 43 years in the military between 1951 and his retirement in 2000.
Mr. Jarvis is survived by his wife, Denise; a daughter, Elizabeth Petrie and her husband Ron; a son, Reed Jr. of Southold; and four granddaughters, Elena and Hannah Petrie, and Heather and Katherine Jarvis.
A funeral service was held on Tuesday, April 17, at the First United Methodist Church of Bellevue, Washington. A private interment will take place at the Westhampton Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to the Westhampton Beach Historical Society, P.O. Box 686, Westhampton Beach, NY 11978.
on Apr 23, 2012