Dr. Reed Anderson Howald, 94, died in Bozeman November 30, 2024 from pneumonia.
He went out on a high note, having just celebrated Thanksgiving with his large, extended family.
His passing seven days after turning 94 let him "out do" his father A.M. and older brother Jerry, who both died at 93.
Reed was born Nov. 23, 1930 in Pittsburgh, PA as the second of four children born to Dr. Arthur Mark and Katharine Anderson Howald. He got his undergraduate degree in chemistry at Oberlin College; and his PhD. in chemistry at the University of Wisconsin.
He would meet his future wife and Michigan resident Elaine Sheperd while he was teaching at Oberlin. They were married Dec. 29, 1961 and honeymooned in Glacier National Park. After additional posts at UCLA, Harvard University, and St. John's University, they moved to Bozeman in 1963 so he could teach chemistry at Montana State College and work as MSC's safety officer for the Atomic Energy Commission.
When he met Elaine, he told her two things were important to him -- fishing and chemistry. By the end of his life he'd added to that list, including Elaine herself; God; pie (gooseberry and cherry); his kids; his home near Kelly Canyon; Rocky Creek; More To Life; and "all living human beings and most animals."
The move to Bozeman was a kind of “homecoming,” as Elaine's ancestors homesteaded in the Gallatin Valley in 1866. Reed’s family would settle in the Kelly Canyon area, which included the property’s original 1898 homestead.
Reed retired from Montana State University in 1998, as a professor emeritus, although he still went to the office most days. "I stopped being paid," he joked, "but I never stopped going to the office." Reed was known to always wear a suit and tie, explaining that "that would always let him fit in." The only time he didn't wear a suit was when he was fishing (but occasionally he WAS caught on a stream wearing his tie).
He was who he was, no matter where he was. "He was unique; never felt he had to fit in. He was passionate about the things he was passionate about," remembered his daughter Shere.
"He was a very unique man; driven; given to helping all sorts of people; generous."
On a less serious side, Reed is also remembered for the large, long beard he grew in 1976, in honor of America's Bicentennial.
He was the latest in a string -- stretching back more than a century -- of family men named Reed. He is descended from Swiss immigrants, with an ancestor who fought in the Revolutionary War, serving at Valley Forge with General George Washington.
He shared a love of chemistry and fishing with his father A.M. Howald, who was renowned for his ground-breaking work and post-World War II invention of fiberglass fishing rods. With bamboo difficult to get in the World War II era, "necessity was the mother of invention" and the fiberglass fly rod was about to be born.
His father experimented with rods utilizing a bamboo core wrapped in fiberglass, and finally a metal core wrapped in fiberglass. As the story is told, a broken tip on his bamboo rod led him to experiment with new materials. The Shakespeare Company in Kalamazoo, Michigan invested in his development of the first fiberglass fishing rods, using the "Howald Process."
(For years, Shakespeare rods were stamped with ‘Howald Process’.)
Reed would later claim that "he'd broken more fly rods than anyone else" as he "helped" his father with his new fishing rod process. He's also well-known for his office door in MSU's Gaines Hall (third floor), covered with traced paper fish of the outlines of the fish he’d caught.
For the last 61 years, Reed was a member of two Bozeman Methodist congregations, most recently Bozeman United Methodist.
He was profiled in MSU's Spring 2015 Mountains and Minds, for his passion for fishing, chemistry, and academic research. Additionally, his father's groundbreaking work with fishing rods was profiled in the Summer 2015 Gallatin History Museum Quarterly.
In a 2022 "living legacy" document, Reed said he'd like to be remembered "as a scientist showing other scientists the benefits of belief in the God who created this big universe and all that is in it."
Reed was predeceased by his parents, Arthur and Katharine; his brother, Jerry; and a daughter who died in utero.
He is survived by his wife, Elaine; his children, Glenn, Shere Conway and Craig (Cheongmi Shim); grandchildren, Tessa Conway, Leo Howald and Tara Conway; and his sisters, Kate Geer and Edna (Eddie) Reiter.
A Celebration of Life is scheduled for Dec. 29 at 1:00 P.M. at Bozeman United Methodist Church, 121 S. Willson Ave [google.com]., with the Rev. Zach Bechtold presiding.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Bozeman United Methodist Church, or to Moreto [moretolife.org]Lif [moretolife.org]e.org [moretolife.org].
Arrangements are in the care of Dokken-Nelson Funeral Service. www.dokkennelson.com [dokkennelson.com]
