Chapel Hill - Rev. Marcus Carthron Reed, of Chapel Hill, Tennessee, died early Saturday morning, May 22nd, of natural causes. He was 96 years old.
Rev. Reed graduated from Rule High School, Carson-Newman College and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
He served with the U.S. infantry in Europe during World War II. He was wounded in the Battle of the Bulge and received the Purple Heart and two Bronze Service Stars.
Rev. Reed pastored Cedar Grove Baptist Church and Beech Grove Baptist Church in Blount County as well as churches in Texas and Georgia before going to Israel as a representative of the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board.
He served in Israel for 27 years along with his late wife, Ruth Caldwell Reed. Various assignments included directing an orphanage and boarding school, managing a dormitory for missionary children, and pastoring the Baptist Church near Tel Aviv.
After retirement Rev. Reed taught Bible classes and played in the church orchestra at Beech Grove Baptist Church in Blount County, and most recently, taught Bible classes and played in the orchestra at Chapel Hill Community Baptist Church in Marshall County.
Rev. Reed is survived by his three children, Carolyn Ruth Reed Seely, Charles Edwin Reed, and Joyce Ann Reed, his grandchildren Tim Spencer, Tracy Gray, Charry Kritz, Beth Johnson, Melenka Bell Reed and Nastassia Bell Reed, thirteen great-grandchildren, seven great-great grandchildren, and numerous nephews, nieces and in-laws, all of whom will miss him greatly.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Margaret Ruth Caldwell Reed, parents, Mr. and Mrs. Horace Beecher Reed Sr., brothers George Thomas Reed, Dr. Horace B. Reed, Jr., and Edsel Reed and by great-grandson, Bryce Michael Spencer.
The funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, June 1, 2021, in the Mausoleum Chapel at Highland Memorial Cemetery, Knoxville, TN.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Grove Hill Church Building Fund, 5216 Nashville Highway, Chapel Hill, TN 37034 Arrangements by Rose Funeral and Cremation - Mann. Online condolences may be made at www.rosefuneraltn.com.