Dorothy H. Reid

Dorothy H. Reid of Bowie, Md., passed away at age 91 on March 19, 2014, after a lengthy illness. Born in 1922 in Elsmere, Kentucky, the daughter of the late John and Emma Ralenkotter, the third of four children, including older brother Arthur, older sister Emma Louise, and younger sister Roberta (Bertie), all deceased. She graduated with honors in 1940 from Saint Henry High School in Erlanger, Ky., turning down a college scholarship to go to work instead to help support her family. During World War II, she worked for the federal government in various administrative jobs in Cincinnati and Memphis. It was on a flight from Memphis to New York that she met her future husband, a handsome young Army Air Corps officer from Boston by the name of Robert Reid. The two married in 1947 traveling the world together, stationed in Germany, New York, Maryland, Massachusetts, Colorado, Washington, D.C. and eventually settling in Bowie in 1967 at the time of Major Reid's retirement from the Air Force. It was a marriage blessed with three children, a son and two daughters, and continued happily until her husband's untimely demise in 1971. After her husband's death, Mrs. Reid went back to work full-time as an executive secretary in various locations, including many years at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD and later, while in her seventies, she continued to work part-time at the University of Maryland, College Park until declining health forced her to retire in the mid 1990's. In retirement, she dedicated herself to her grandchildren, Joe, Chris and Andy, who became her pride and joy; she remained a loyal supporter of her beloved Redskins, win or lose--in recent years it was mostly "lose." A long-time member of Sacred Heart Parish in Bowie, and until recently when her health began to fail, she could be found at the Bowie Senior Center playing Bridge competitively with the best of them. Always intellectually curious, she was a voracious reader of all genres with a special fondness for John Grisham novels, a patron of local live Theatre but also sure to never miss the latest Clint Eastwood movie. She loved music, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett as well as the Beatles. She had a weakness for Salt Water Taffy from Ocean City and never missed an episode of "Jeopardy" and for many years after her retirement, scored along with the contestants and oftentimes it was she who had the highest score by the end of the match, a true winner. She will be greatly missed by her many friends in the MD/DC/VA area. She is survived by two daughters, Jennifer Tringali of Bowie, Md., and Leah Reid of Los Angeles, Ca., a son, Robert P. Reid of Amelia Island, Fl., three grandsons, Joseph Belew of Hanover, Md., Christopher Tringali of Crownsville, Md., and Andrew Tringali of Bowie, Md., along with her faithful canine companions, Honey and Rocco. A funeral service will be held at Sacred Heart Chapel in Bowie, MD on Saturday, April 12th at 12noon, followed by a reception at the Knights of Columbus Hall. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made in her name to Hospice of the Chesapeake, 90 Ritchie Hwy., Pasadena, Md. 21122.