Mary Louise Reid died peacefully in her sleep at her home in Waccabuc, New York, on Sept. 13. She was 99 years old and beloved by her large family and many friends.
Brilliant and beautiful, she was also always kind, gracious, and self-effacing. Wife of 70 years, mother of six children, political spouse, passionate supporter of education, community servant, person of faith, talented athlete, and lover of dogs, Mary Louise was a renaissance woman for her times.
Born and raised in New York City, she graduated at the top of her class and was class president of the Spence School. She earned Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa honors at Barnard and was president of the Student Council. After receiving her master’s degree in psychology from Columbia University, she began her varied professional life in the HR department at the Central Intelligence Agency.
Mary Louise married Ogden Rogers Reid in 1949. He predeceased her in 2019. Ogden Reid was former editor and publisher of the Herald Tribune, Ambassador to Israel, and six-term congressman from New York. She was his close partner and confidant in a lifetime filled with notable accomplishments. She learned Hebrew in Israel to be an articulate spokesperson for her country while also giving birth to her fourth child, Elisabeth. She was a strategic advisor, assistant campaign manager, and able representative for her husband on the campaign trail and in service of his constituents.
She spent her entire life devoted to education. She served on the boards of Barnard College, the Stevens Institute of Technology, Deerfield Academy, Rye Country Day School, the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, and the Henry Street Settlement in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
She taught literature to women in prison and worked with young children in inner-city Washington, D.C. After politics, she began a new career running a small public relations firm with her close friend Peggy Michelman. This later evolved into consulting and development work for numerous schools and charities.
A descendant of the early Puritans, Mary Louise was deeply committed to her Presbyterian faith, active in her church, and read scripture with the Hebrew she learned in Israel. Always a leader, she served as a trustee of the United Presbyterian Church. Her faith reinforced her concern for others, loyalty to friends and love of family. When not working, she learned to fly a plane and sail a boat with her husband, played tennis into her 90s, kept a garden, and spoiled her many dogs from Stag to Professor to Currituck.
Most of all, she raised her large family with a light and loving touch, always encouraging and available to them. She started every morning by saying “rise and shine” and often she did most of the shining. She radiated empathy, compassion, and affirmation. Her loving heart bore fruit. She had 19 grandchildren and six great grandchildren.
She is survived by her children and their spouses Stewart (Lisa), Michael (Anne), William (Elizabeth), Elisabeth (Joseph), Ogden (Roxana), and David, her grandchildren and great grandchildren.
What a life she led.
A funeral service celebrating her life will be held on Saturday, Sept. 21 at 11 a.m. at the Pound Ridge Community Church in Pound Ridge.