Obituary

David Andrew Reed (91), loving husband of Virginia (d. 2015), passed away peacefully at his residence in Palm Desert, CA on January 16th, where he recently relocated from Newport Beach, CA.

A son of Butler, PA, David was the starting quarterback for the Butler High School Golden Tornadoes which he led to their first state championship. He was later recognized for this accomplishment when he was inducted into the Butler High School Hall of Fame in 1985. He continued his football legacy as the starting quarterback at Allegheny College in the days when after “getting his bell rung,” he was immediately back on the field after counting the number of fingers the coach held in front of his face.

It was at Allegheny where David, a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, met his future wife of 59 years, Virginia Rogers, a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma. After college, Virginia joined David in Germany while he served in the Army during the Korean War; they were married in the town of Nellingen in a simple ceremony with two close friends serving as witnesses.

After serving in the army, Dave attended the University of Pittsburgh, graduating with a Master of Science from the Graduate School of Public Health Administration and beginning what would become a long and distinguished career as an executive in health care administration.

His first position was as an assistant administrator at Cincinnati General Hospital, followed by becoming President of Lenox Hill Hospital on the Upper East Side of New York City in 1979. He moved from New York in 1989 to ultimately become the CEO of Samaritan Health System, now Banner Health, the largest healthcare system in Arizona. Toward the end of his tenure at Samaritan, he was elected Chairman of the American Hospital Association. In 1990 he became the CEO of the St. Joseph Health System in Orange, CA. Later David was appointed Chairman of the Board for PacifiCare and served in that role until he retired in 2003.

Early in his thriving career, David and Virginia had four daughters in six years. David had to adapt quickly to being surrounded by women at home, although he never gave up trying to teach his daughters how to catch a pass, throw a perfect spiral, and play golf. David was a powerful and positive influence throughout his daughters’ lives as they pursued their education, careers, and families, and this influence extended to his beloved sons-in-law who enthusiastically embraced his love of watching football, especially the Pitt Panthers and the Pittsburgh Steelers. As his family grew, all marveled at his heartfelt toasts and inspirational encouragement (punctuated by his trademark “and so on and so forth…”) at family gatherings and events.

David and Virginia were a fun-loving couple and enjoyed wonderful times and travels with dear friends over the years. As lifelong boaters and golfers, they were members of Scarsdale Golf Club, Hitchcock Presbyterian Church in Scarsdale, Paradise Valley Country Club in Phoenix, Valley Presbyterian Church in Phoenix, Marbella Country Club while living in Orange County then Catalina Island Yacht Club, Dana West Yacht Club, and Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club. At the time of his passing, David was also a member of St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach and the American Legion Newport Harbor Post 291.

David is survived by his daughters Kristine (Jon) Garrett, Katherine (Noel) Hamilton, Elizabeth (Bob) Gavin, Amy (John) Reardon; nine grandchildren – Caroline (Russell), Kate (Nick), Justin (Emily), Will, Reed, Sydney, Jack, Jordan (Emer) and Andrew; three great-grandchildren, sons to Caroline and Russell – Decker, Kennedy, and Wilder; and special friend, Jacqueline Fox.

David will be dearly missed but his memory is fondly cherished by all who knew and loved him.

Celebration of David’s Life will be at 12:00pm on February 28, 2025 at Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club, 1601 Bayside Drive, Corona Del Mar, CA 92625.  Please RSVP at https://everloved.com/life-of/david-andrew-reed/

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Catalina Island Yacht Club Foundation. David was on the board that created the 501(c)(3) foundation to benefit qualified charitable institutions in Avalon and the Island of Catalina.

Please make checks payable to the foundation with the name David Reed in the memo line of the check:
CIYC Foundation
Attn: Randy Weaver
20950 Oxnard St., Unit 46
Woodland Hills, CA. 91367