Longtime teacher Reed dies at 86

Monday, July 2, 2001 | 10:04 a.m.

When Doris Reed came to Las Vegas in 1952, she had excellent teaching credentials from England and Bermuda, but Nevada law forbade "alien teachers" from obtaining credentials.

With a push from former Las Vegas High School principal Maud Frazier, who recognized the need for quality professional teachers -- American or not -- the 1955 Nevada Legislature passed a bill to overturn the antiquated statute.

Reed began teaching in the old Henderson Township District immediately, and remained a teacher in Henderson until her retirement in August 1986 from Burkholder Junior High School.

Doris M. Reed, whose name graces an elementary school near Smoke Ranch Road and Michael Way, died Saturday at the Beehive Assisted Living Home. She was 86.

Services for the Henderson resident of 46 years will be 4 p.m. Saturday at Palm Mortuary-Eastern.

In her 31 years in Nevada classrooms, Reed developed the reputation as a stern but fair English teacher who instilled in her students at least a knowledge of, and often a love for, Shakespearean literature.

"Doris was a strong woman and a good example for the students and the community," said former Nevada Gov. Mike O'Callaghan, publisher of the Henderson Home News and a longtime friend. "The love that flowed from her to the students was returned every day of her life."

Among her many claims to fame, Reed was the first boys soccer coach at Basic High School and founder of the Burkholder drama program. She also taught English to Les and Glen Charles, who gained international fame as writers on the hit TV sitcom "Cheers."

Henderson City Councilman Andy Hafen, who was Reed's student at Henderson Junior High School -- now Burkholder -- remembered Reed's dedication to her profession and to her students.

"She expected a lot and we worked hard for her," Hafen said. "She was very fair, and it came through to us that she really cared a lot for what she was doing. She commanded and got our respect."

Mike Reed, her son and a longtime Las Vegas resident, said his mother's influence on the local education community will be felt for years.

"She was a great leader in the school district, lobbying for UNLV to be built and instituting different programs like the Academically Talented (chapter) for straight A students (at Burkholder) and classes that focused on speech and drama," he said.

"And you could not ask for a better mother -- a single woman raising three children on a meager income. She made so many sacrifices and she always had time to come out and watch me and my brother play sports."

Born Doris Mann on April 3, 1915, in England, she entered Sittingbourne County School for Girls on a scholarship at age 9 and completed her formal education in 1931. At age 16 she took the University of London School Certification test and passed with honors. Athletically, she excelled in soccer, field hockey, tennis and swimming. Reed earned her higher education certificate in 1933 and a bachelor of arts degree from the University of London in English, history and French in 1935. In September 1937 Reed was appointed English mistress at Nottingham Ravensworth Road Mix Central School and, during World War II, taught at several London schools.

In 1947 Reed moved to Bermuda and taught English and physical education at St. George Grammar School. Five years later she came to Southern Nevada.

While at Burkholder, she lobbied for the creation of a boys soccer team at Basic High School and volunteered to coach when no qualified male teacher stepped forward. She held that job for two years.

Also at Burkholder, she started the drama program and produced two plays a year for 20 years. In 1984 she took a group of students to England, where they visited Stratford-on-Avon, Shakespeare's hometown.

A devotee of the arts, Reed regularly attended the annual Utah Shakespearean Festival.

In 1986 a school at 2501 Winwood Street in Las Vegas was named for Reed. Over the years she often visited the school and read to the students.

In November 1997, at age 83, Reed went blind following an operation to remove tumors from behind her eyes. When students at Doris Reed Elementary learned that the operation had left Reed with $100,000 in medical costs not covered by insurance, they rallied to help her pay the bill.

On Feb. 27, 1998, the final day of Nevada Reading Week, 800 Doris Reed Elementary students conducted a "read-a-thon" to raise money for the woman who had brought the pleasure of reading to hundreds of children during a half-century of teaching.

In addition to her son, Reed is survived by a daughter, Allison Jackson of Las Vegas; a sister, Eileen Mann of England; seven grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by a son, Marty Reed.