Alaska Highway. Company F. Born: 2 February 1914, Lock Haven, PA. Died: 7 April 1961, Fern Creek, Jefferson, KY. Education: four years college. Civilian occupation: employed at Bethlehem Steel Company.
His father was Elbert Samuel Reed (1885-1960), a superintendent for Pennsylvania railroad. His mother was Celia Gertrude Gleason (1891-1994). Leroy married Elnora L. Lyon (1917-1961) in March 1944.
The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky) 8 April 1961. “Deaths of LeRoy I Reeds Called Murder, Suicide” …Deputy Coroner James Barber said Reed, 45, shot his wife in the left side sometime early in the morning and then shot himself in the chest about 7:30 or 8 am…Reed was fired from his job as a claims adjuster for Aetna Casualty and Surety Company.
The Paducah Sun (Paducah, Kentucky) 8 April 1961. “Fern Crrek Man Kills Wife, Self. A Fern Creek insurance adjuster killed his wife, then himself just one day after he was discharged from his job. Shot to death (32 caliber automatic pistol) were LeRoy I. Reed, 45, and his wife, Elnora, 42, parents of three sons, ages 9, 14 and 17. One of the couple’s sons found the bodies. Police said the shots from a pistol were muffled by a pillow. Mrs. Reed was shot several hours before her husband committed suicide. Detective Herbert White said Reed left three notes – one to his mother, one to his three sons and the third to his eldest son directing him to sell family property to pay Reed’s debts. Reed had held the insurance job for 13 years.
Serial #O-456606