Gary Reed

Gary Reed was born on June 22, 1962 to the late Ernest and Jannie Reed in Gulfport, MS. He was the oldest of eight siblings. He is preceded in death by his parents, Ernest and Jannie Reed and one brother, Perry Reed.

Gary received a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Southern Mississippi. He was united in holy matrimony to Shelia Collier on February 12, 1994.  Gary and Shelia joined Greater Mount Olive Baptist Church in 1995 and were faithful members for many years. Gary was a devoted member of the Trustee Board in which he served for several years.

He was a member of Leadership Gulf Coast, a recipient of the Gulfport Rotary Club’s Paul Harris Fellow for civic role in Business and Community Development and was also a former member of the Gulfport Business Council and Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce.

He began his career with Mississippi Power and later transitioned to the Federal Government. He was a Rural Development Specialist with Rural Development where he assisted many families in obtaining decent, safe and sanitary housing. During the time Gary worked with Rural Development he helped improve the quality of life in Rural Mississippi through the services he provided in housing.

He became an Economic/Business Development Specialist with the U.S. Small Business Administration in Gulfport, MS in 1997. He served as a liaison to the small business community, economic development organizations, Chambers of Commerce as well as financial institutions located within Mississippi’s 12 most southern counties.

Gary became branch manager of the U.S. Small Business Administration Gulfport, MS office in 2010 and he and his wife, Shelia, moved to Madison, MS after being promoted to Deputy District Director in 2013 to the Jackson, MS  SBA Mississippi District Office. He assisted the Director in the management of the daily operations of the District Office as well as the delivery of the Agency’s varied counseling, financial assistance, contract procurement development and disaster programs to small businesses throughout the state. He retired with 24 years of dedicated service with the Federal Government in 2018.

He is survived by his wife, Shelia Reed, two brothers Derrick Reed, Sr. and Ernest Reed, Jr. and four sisters, Melanie Reed, Tanya Reed, Tara Riley(Shedrick) and Kathy Warnsley(Bobby) all of Gulfport, MS and host of nieces and nephews.

The visitation for family and friends will be on Thursday, February 10, 2022 at Riemann Family Funeral Home, 11280 Three Rivers Rd., Gulfport from 5:00pm-7:00pm, the funeral service will be on Friday at 11:00am in the funeral home chapel. Interment will follow in Monroe Memorial Park Cemetery.