Carol L. Reed

Carol Lynn Reed passed away peacefully on July 13th in Arvada, CO after a 4 year battle with cancer. Carol was born to Kenneth and Marilyn Kurtz September 15th, 1947 in St Paul Minnesota. The family lived in ND for a short time and moved to Casper Wyoming in 1951. Carol graduated from Natrona County High School in 1965, where her friendship with the “YaYa’s” was born and has remained strong to this day.

Carol moved to Laramie with her mom and brother Steve in 1966, where Carol attended the University of Wyoming. She met Lynn Todd and they were married November 22, 1967 in Laramie and within a few years were a family of four. The family moved to Todd Ranch, 32 miles outside of Upton, Wyoming, in 1973.

While on the ranch, Carol was a devoted mom and wife. She adapted to ranch living, learning to assist with the ranch chores and making groceries last as long as possible before making the weekly 45 minute drive to the nearest grocery store. She was a master at meal planning, organizing, and the overall running of the household.

Carol had such a maternal personality, she was very patient and caring. During the school week, Carol drove a school bus (really a yellow Suburban) on the farthest leg of the route, starting with Jason and Jennifer and then picking up cousins and neighbors along the way. She organized snack duty with the other moms and was always there when the "big" bus pulled up, bringing snacks for all the kids, and delivering them safely through weather extremes: dust or mud, rain or snow.

As her kids grew she stepped outside of her comfort zone and became involved in the Wyoming State Mental Health Board, the State 4-H Council, and was chosen to represent Wyoming in the first class of the Leadership Education and Development program. It was with the LEAD program that she was given the opportunity to travel nationally and Internationally and made life-long friends. She acted as her mother-in-law’s escort during her Eastern Star travels, always nurturing those who needed help.

Carol and Lynn divorced in 1990 and Carol moved to Laramie to finish college. Jennifer and Jason were also at UW, so it was a unique experience for all three to be together. Carol graduated from the University of Wyoming with a degree in Child and Family Development in 1992. She reconnected with her high school sweetheart, Jay Reed. They married in April of 1993 and settled in Golden, CO.

Carol and Jay were employees and then owners of the Wild Bird Center in Wheat Ridge, CO, where they made their customers feel like family for many years. During that time Carol successfully received treatment for breast cancer. In 2006 Carol found her place at the Home Depot in Lakewood, where she stayed until 2019. Her co-workers and long-time customers always felt cared for and appreciated by her warm, nurturing presence.

In 2019 the breast cancer returned and had metastasized throughout her body. She moved into Arbor View Skilled Nursing and was cared for there throughout her long battle with cancer. Although her body wasn’t as healthy as she would have liked, her spirit and sense of humor clearly shone through to everyone who encountered her. When the nursing home was off-limits due to Covid, the employees became family…getting to know her sense of humor and her genuine interest in their lives. Our family cannot begin to express the gratitude that we feel for the staff at Arbor View. I know that many of them grew to love her as we all do.

Everyone who met Carol and spent time with her felt her loving, nurturing energy. She always wanted to make sure you felt loved and accepted, even if it meant putting her own needs aside. She is survived by her brother, Steve Kurtz, and his wife Libby, from Casper Wyoming. Her son Jason Todd and his wife Pauline, their kids Trevor, Justin, and Lauren from Houston, Texas, and her daughter Jennifer Atlas, and her husband Jason and boys Ian and Zac from Superior, CO.

There will be a open-house style Celebration of Life for Carol on Saturday, September 16th, from 2:00 - 5:00 p.m. with a set time for Remembrance and Laughter beginning at 3:00 p.m. The Celebration will be held at the Broomfield Community Center, located at 280 Spader Way, Broomfield, CO 80020 in the Banquet Room.

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