James Denny Reed
Born: October 9, 1938
Died: April 7, 2006
James Denny Reed was born in Covina, CA on October 9,1938. He was known to friends as Jim", and family as "Denny" to avoid confusion with his father and grandfather, who shared that same name. Jim lived the " good, small-town life " of Covina, living on an orange ranch and then later in Covina on Badillo Street, right across from the red car line. School, family, friends, and basketball were important influences on Jim's growing up years. After High School graduation in 1956, Jim went to UC Santa Barbara for two years. Not being a serious student at that time, Jim decided to join the Army "to see the world". While in the service and stationed in the US, Jim"s basketball skills were noticed and he played bail for both the Army and Air Force teams. After his discharge from the Army, Jim returned to California and enrolled in college at Cal Poly Pomona. For those two years, Jim was a starter on the Bronco Basketball team where he played the position of guard. He had a great outside shot before the 3 point rule came into being, and was a master of making his free throws.
In October of 1964 Jim, described as a "basketball player", and Julie described as a "teacher", met on a blind date set up by a mutual friend. After the initial shock that Julie was taller than had been first indicated, the couple hit it off and could be seen frequently at two of their favorite places, Coffee Dans, eating hot fudge sundaes or hamburgers at the original In N Out. After graduation from Cal Poly in 1965 in Business Management, Jim worked for Montgomery Wards in various roles. As manager of the Toy Department and barely surviving the Christmas season, Jim always said that it was what drove him to Law School.
On July 2,1966 Jim and Julie were married in Julie's hometown, Wayne, NE on a typical hot, humid day with friends and family wishing them well. Their honeymoon was spent driving back to CA. Jim changed jobs and began working for SafeCo Insurance Co. where he was administrative manager of various departments. In 1969, when Safeco moved to Fountain Valley, Jim and Julie bought a home in Mission Viejo, a town that was not yet on any map. At this point in Jim's life, he decided he wanted to become an attorney. He started his 3 years of law school by going to school at night and driving up to La Verne Law Center. In June of 1971, Jim completed the first step in becoming an attorney and received his Juris Doctor from LaVerne College of Law. Jim passed the CA State Bar in December of 1971.
In the midst of school, job and "normal life" which included any "cheap" recreation like tennis, and being with friends, Matt, Jim " s oldest son, was born on May 3,1971. Family time began to include more church activities; every Sunday families would meet at the beach and spend the afternoon. On March 8, 1977, Jim ' s second son, Mark, was born. Life continued with Jim being involved in the boys lives at home and through their sports. He cheered, coached, "reviewed games " and played with both sons while enjoying seeing them grow into fine young men. Jim worked with many excellent attorneys over the years doing mostly defense work in the areas of medical malpractice, insurance defense, construction defect, and employment law. Jim could " grin and bear " the many attorney jokes that he heard over the years. His motto was to always "work hard" for his client by "doing the right thing," "know the facts", and "maintain everyone's integrity". Jim loved the law and liked helping people. In 2003, he was honored by his peers in the American Board of Trial Advocates, and was given the George Francis Civility Award recognizing integrity and professionalism.
Jim's faith and waik with the Lord grew over the years by being involved in many Bible Studies and spending time in the Word. He loved his Lord, his family, and friends. He will be missed!
