Obituary: Eric Reed, local boy who did well for himself and others

Eric Laurence Reed grew up in Portola Valley, graduated from local schools and came to public service somewhat late in his now foreshortened life. Mr. Reed, a former councilman and mayor of Belmont, died Dec. 8 at his Belmont home, about two miles from the San Mateo hospital where he was born. He was 50.

Mr. Reed’s funeral is set for 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 14, at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church at 1300 Fifth Ave. in Belmont, with a reception to follow in the parish hall.

Mr. Reed’s “happy and free-range childhood” in Portola Valley included touring the trails and creek beds on a red sting-ray bicycle with his rascal pals, his mother Loverine Taylor said.

He attended Ormondale, Corte Madera, Woodside Priory, all Portola Valley schools, and Menlo-Atherton High School in Atherton. Throughout his time in school, he played soccer and occasionally first base as a Little Leaguer at Ford Field, his mother said.

Photos that he took, as a 4H Club member, of a blue-ribbon winner at a state fair were published in the Almanac, his mother said.

Animals were a theme in his life. As a child, he shared his bedroom with fish, cats and a pet rat, his mother said, adding that her son assisted her in raising wild animals such as fawns, quail and birds of prey for Wildlife Rescue.

Mr. Reed grew to love writing, helped along to proficiency in grammar and punctuation by Sisters Serena and Joan at the Priory, his mother said.

Between his junior and senior years at M-A, he spent a summer in Norway with a newfound friend that led to a notable change. On boarding the plane at San Francisco International Airport, he wore a three-piece suit, his mother said. When he deplaned three months later, he was wearing clogs, black jeans and a goth pink sweatshirt.

At M-A, Mr. Reed met Laura Tower, who he later married. After graduating in 1986, he enrolled at the University of California at Santa Cruz with plans to major in history, his mother said.

Four years later, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology, whereupon he immediately signed on as a research associate with the South San Francisco biotech firm Genentech.

He never left, his mother said. He acquired a master’s degree in business administration in biotechnology from Santa Clara University in 1999 and his responsibilities at Genentech included management positions in molecular research.

Mr. Reed’s involvement in civic affairs began with a proposal for speed bumps on his residential street in Belmont, where he moved with his family in 2002. He later sought a position on the Planning Commission, to which he was appointed in 2008.

A 2011 run for the City Council was unsuccessful – he lost by 11 votes – but he won a seat on the council in 2013 and served as mayor in 2016. “He really loved helping people and during his tenure as mayor and councilman fulfilled virtually all of his campaign promises,” his mother said.

In a comment to Mr. Reed’s mother, current Belmont Mayor Charles Stone described his colleague’s wisdom, wit, grace, and clarity of good intention as “amazing to behold. … I’ve worked with many Councilmembers on different bodies and Eric was the best, hands down.”

Along with his mother, Mr. Reed is survived by his wife Laura; sons Nick and Jake; father Larry Reed of Foster City; brother Ian Reed; and his extended family.

His mother asks, given that her son’s favorite color was orange, that friends and relatives think of her son when wearing an orange sweater or seeing an orange flower.

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