Peter Daniel Reed, 72, of Portsmouth, passed away on February 20, 2019, at home surrounded by family.
Peter was born on October 30, 1946, in Newport, RI, to the late Edward Reed and the late Mary (McCarthy) Reed. Peter was the husband of Pamela (Monk) Kopplin.
Peter graduated from De La Salle in 1964, and Northeastern University in 1969. After a two year career in the Navy, serving as a Seabee stationed in Antarctica, he returned to Aquidneck Island and worked for Newport Electric, and later for General Electric. In 1978, Peter co-founded Coastal Electric and for nearly four decades applied his expertise and dedication to help residents and businesses until his retirement in 2016 due to his illness. For almost the past twenty years, he displayed the same commitment to his passionate hobby of acquiring and restoring antique fire trucks with his longtime friend Ron Chace. Together they formed “Wires and Fires,” an unofficial group of their friends who assisted in these overwhelming projects, and who made time for annual “field trips” to museums, fire musters, and antique truck shows.
For the past four years, Ron Chace and Peter’s cousin Kevin McCarthy hosted the “men’s hour” at our home, bringing Dunkin’ Donuts coffees and catching up on old times and current Aquidneck Island news. Friends and former coworkers would stop in often too, insuring Peter could always count on company at 3pm.
Pamela would like to thank the wonderful staff of All About Home Care, and especially Jay Lima, whose care and compassion the past three years was phenomenal.
Besides his wife, Pamela, Peter is survived by his sister Elizabeth “Bette” Reed of Newport, his daughter, Kristine Woleck, her husband Greg and their children Grace and Jack Woleck, all of Bethel, CT, his son, David Reed and his wife Jennifer and their children Ella and Leo Reed, all of Sturbridge, MA, Pamela’s children, Bethany Gilpin and her husband Brian and their children John, Abby, Noah and Ella Gilpin, all of Portsmouth, Courtney Kopplin of Cambridge, MA, and Adam Kopplin of Salem, MA.
He was preceded in death by his brothers, Edward Francis Reed and John Patrick Reed.
A Memorial Mass in his memory will be held on Saturday, February 23, 2019, at 1:30PM, at St. Barnabas Church, 1697 East Main Road, Portsmouth.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Portsmouth Rescue Wagon Fund, P.O. Box 806, Portsmouth, RI 02871, or to the Visiting Nurse Hospice, 1184 East Main Road, Portsmouth, RI 02871.
