The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

Helen (Rector) Reid was born on October 23, 1924 in Seattle, Washington. She was adopted as a baby by William Carl Rector and Betty Helen Casey of Touchet, Washington. Unfortunately, Helen's father died when she was two years old. Helen's mother remarried in 1929 making Clyde Henry Brown, a widower, her stepfather. Helen joined Clyde's three other children: Merle, Dwain, and Iris there on the Brown wheat ranch near Prescott, Washington. She attended school in Prescott graduating from high school in 1942, was active in Rainbow Girls, played the piano, and was selected as a Farmerette her senior year. Helen attended Washington State College in Pullman, Washington from 1942–1944. During this time, she corresponded with William O. Reid, a young man from the Prescott area who was serving in the U.S. Army during World War II.

On October 14, 1944, Helen and William "Bill" were married. They first lived in the Lewiston, Idaho area and moved to Enterprise, Oregon in 1950 where they became part owners of the Enterprise Equipment Company. Bill and Helen sold their interest in the business in 1954. Bill became the director of the local Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service office. Helen took employment with the Farris Insurance Agency and the Wallowa County Stockgrowers Association. Helen was also involved in various community organizations and raised three children. While in her sixties, Helen was able to locate her birth mother and make a connection with her brother, Richard "Dick" Hodgson. Helen and Dick enjoyed each other's friendship until his death.

Bill and Helen pursued their dream of building a home on the west side of Wallowa Lake in the 1970's. They did much of the work on the home themselves as Bill was a carpenter and Helen was his skilled assistant. In 1985 they moved to Lincoln City, Oregon to enjoy the more moderate climate of the Oregon coast. As Bill's health declined, they moved to Marian Estates in Sublimity, Oregon. Bill's time there was very short, but Helen continued to live there until her death making many new friends, organizing their library, and enjoying sunny afternoons on her back patio.

Helen is survived by daughter, Robin Hayr, of San Jose, California; son William "Bill" Reid and his wife, Neva, of Joseph, Oregon; daughter Peggy Kistler and her husband, Doug, of Monmouth, Oregon; five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. The family will have a private memorial service this fall at the Ivy Cemetery located near Prescott where Helen grew up. Memorial donations may be made to the Salvation Army or the charity of your choice.