Thelma Reed honored with 100th Birthday celebration
Thelma Reed, 100, listens with a smile as Jimmy Sterling leads celebrants in a ditty entitled Hello, Thelma!
Thelma Reed celebrated her 100th birthday this week and made it out to see Santa Claus at the Dayton Historical Society’s Holiday Dinner.
Thelma Reed is escorted to the field at Bronco Stadium to honor her as one of the 2022 Dayton ISD Sports Hall of Fame inductees.
DAYTON – It was an exciting time as family, friends, and guests celebrated Thelma Reed's 100th birthday with a party hosted by the Dayton Historical Society.
Reed greeted everyone with a beautiful and welcoming smile as they arrived for the party.
A short program was held and Dayton Mayor Caroline Wadzeck read a Proclamation declaring Nov. 30, 2022, as Thelma Reed Day.
“Our Dayton Historical Society wanted to honor Thelma Reed, one of our members, in celebration of her 100th birthday and we did so last Sunday afternoon with a large crowd in attendance,” said Wadzeck.
Jimmy and Sandra Sterling led those in attendance in a singalong honoring Reed, including the Dayton school and fight songs and a memorable ditty entitled “Hello, Thelma!”
Reed was born on Nov. 30, 1922, in Dayton and was the seventh child of Milford and Margaret Hamm.
She worked for Humble Oil and Refinery in Baytown, becoming a laboratory technician, earning her The General H.H. Arnold Medallion Award from the United States Army Air Force Commanding General on Dec. 14, 1944.
She married Louie Reed from a Dayton pioneer family on July 24, 1945, and together their daughter, Amber.
The couple partnered in raising rice, hay, livestock, and horses on their farm in Dayton before becoming a top salesperson for World Book Encyclopedia.
At 53, she attended nursing school and eventually worked for Methodist Hospital.
She has spent over 75 years as an active member of the Eastern Star, an organization that means so much to her.
Reed has been a long-time member of Dayton's First Methodist Church, where the gathering was held. She has remained active in several local organizations, including the Dayton Historical Society.
In October 2022, she was inducted into the Dayton ISD Sports Hall of Fame as Dayton's oldest living Bronco head cheerleader.
She is Grandmother to Michael and Montere Reed and Great-grandmother to three great-granddaughters and one great-grandson, with a great great granddaughter due in April 2023.
“She and her daughter Amber have faithfully attended meetings for years even though they drive from Kingwood to do so. Thelma lived in Dayton most of her life. She is such a wonderful person - we love her so much and it was our privilege to honor her,” concluded Wadzeck.