Terry Reese
November 18, 1940 — July 15, 2024
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Service Details
Terry Linn Reese, 83, passed away Monday, July 15, 2024, at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa.
Terry was born and raised in Des Moines, and is the son of the late James and June Reese. He attended Des Moines East High School and joined the Air Force directly after high school, where he served time in South Korea.
He returned home to begin working a few jobs before landing at John Deere, where he worked until retirement. He and his wife, Carol, were married in 1965 and went on to have two children.
Thanks to John Deere, Terry worked exactly 30 years before retiring at age 52, as a part of their 30 and out retirement program. This allowed him to live 31+ years of retirement life. During those years, he spent countless hours coaching and watching his kids in all their sports throughout grade school and high school; and as a fixture at Blank Golf Course, as well as many other courses, where he accrued three hole in ones over the years. He also loved to watch sports, grab pizza with his daughter, Laura, at Blank Golf Course, talk for hours about all the sports he watched on T.V., the Iowa Hawkeyes, and about all the history books he read or the shows he watched on the history channel. He will be missed by all who knew him.
Terry is survived by his wife of 59 years, Carol (Gile) Reese; his son, Rick (Christine) Reese of West Des Moines, Iowa; his two grandchildren, Nolan and Ava Reese; his brother-in-law, John Everson of Markham, Virginia; and brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Richard and Carole Gile of Bella Vista, Arkansas.
Terry is preceded in death by his parents, James and June Reese; his daughter, Laura Reese; and his sister, Elaine Everson.
Family will be greeting friends on Sunday, July 21, 2024, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Hamilton’s Southtown Funeral Home; 5400 SW 9th Street, Des Moines, Iowa.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be directed to the family.
Condolences may be expressed at www.Hamiltonsfuneralhome.com.
Tom McDonald
08/17/2024
To Carol and family, I am so sorry for the loss of your husband, father, grandfather.
I ran into another Deere employee at the Iowa Cubs game who told me about the passing of Terry. I was telling him I hadn't seen Terry and thought of calling him up to come to a noon game. He started to tell me about Terry and got choked up. He knew how much I loved Terry.
I came to work at John Deere at 18 years old. I got transferred from one department to a department Terry worked in. Terry took me under his wing and showed me the ropes. At that time I became a fan of the Iowa Hawkeyes thanks to Terry. On Saturdays we huddled around a little radio listening to the Hawkeyes. Terry told me many stories about playing baseball at East. Who would of thought that in 1990 I would become an Assistant Varsity Coach at East. Soon I heard a familiar voice yelling at me. It was so great to see Terry again! Another time I ran into Terry walking at Southridge Mall. He stopped we hugged and shot the bull for a couple of minutes. He said I got to get going Tommy, I got eyes burning at me. He said you know the wife. He said shes got me out here walking to keep me upright. I loved it. My mom and sister called me Tommy and soon I heard it from Terry. Later we met again at a Iowa Cubs game. Then coaching at East I became Tommy Mac because the players called me Coach Mac. I know someday I will see Terry again and it will be fun.
Thank you for sharing Terry. I so wish I would of seen or heard about Terry's passing earlier.
Memories are forever and I know all of you have so many memories. Hold them close and share them ofter because Terry was one in a million. God Bless
Dr. Paul E.Rider, Sr
08/06/2024
Terry and I played baseball for East High in the late 1950s. He was a good athlete and a good guy to be around. Our team won the City Series in 1958 (actually tied with North). Terry was one of our left-handed pitchers. He often borrowed my jacket to keep his arm warm. Rest in peace good friend.
Mike Minnivk
07/17/2024
My thoughts and prayers go out to Carol and the rest of the family on the passing of Terry. Terry always put up with the crumby little kid across the street shooting baskets way too early in the morning. He was always nice enough to give me an encouraging word and shoot the breeze about anything sports related anytime we talked. I appreciated that.