Rachael R. Reid

Rachael R. Reid, PhD., age 84, of Glen Arm, MD passed away on January 13, 2020 at Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in Bel Air, MD. Born in Jackson, MI, she was the daughter of the late Harley Jay and Myra (Spencer) Reynolds. Rachael majored in journalism at Michigan State University and intended to one day enter that field. When the US Army called her husband Pete to service at Aberdeen Proving Ground, she learned the county had a teacher shortage and entered a special training program at Towson State in 1966. She had been assisting her daughter's teacher at Wakefield Elementary in Bel Air, and the teacher recommended her to Harford County Public Schools’ personnel as a teacher candidate.

Rachael was hired to teach fifth grade at Jarrettsville Elementary in 1967 and then went on to Homestead Elementary and William Paca/Old Post Road. She later became a special education teacher, served as assistant principal and elementary supervisor in several schools before becoming principal at Deerfield Elementary in 1991 and serving until her retirement in 1999.

Following her retirement from HCPS, Dr. Reid taught graduate courses at Notre Dame University of Maryland and later taught introductory elementary and special education courses at HCC. She was named a Harford Living Treasure by the Harford County Council in 2012.

Rachael had a lively sense of humor. She loved to travel and visited diverse parts of the world including Europe, South America, and Australia where she was invited to visit several elementary schools in order to observe their teaching methods and offer her observations to the Harford County Public Schools. Above all, Rachael enjoyed spending time with her family and loved many dogs throughout her life.

Rachael is survived by her husband Arend "Pete" Reid; daughter, Diane (Joseph) Frijia; son, David R. Reid; grandchildren, Kristin (Alex) Persu, Melanie Reid, Anthony Frijia and Nicholas Frijia; great-grandchildren, Nicholas Persu, Jacob Quillen and Natalie Persu.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her granddaughter, Kaitlyn Reid and sister, Gertrude Miller.

The family will be hosting a visitation at Fallston United Methodist Church on February 1, 2020 from 10:00 to 11:00am. Services will be held at 11:00am followed by lunch. Please join the family in celebrating Rachael’s life.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Charles F. Brown Scholarship Fund at Glen Meadows. Rachael chaired the committee for the scholarship fund and was passionate in regard to supporting the education of the students who serve at Glen Meadows.