Rhea Jane Reed was born February 26, 1966, in Aurora, IL. She was immediately adopted by James and Evelyn Reed to join their 2-year old adopted daughter Marybeth. If you can believe it, Rhea was the quiet one in the family and didn't start talking until she was almost 2. AND she was always the shyest an the quietest child in her class until about high school. The Reed family lived in Naperville, IL, surrounded by the love and joy of a large family on Evelyn's side...the Daltons. In 1972, Rhea and the rest of the family moved to St. Paul, then Woodbury, and Rhea has been a true Minnesotan ever since.
She followed her mom into the cosmetology industry and worked in the family salon for a number of years before her mom sold the business in 1988. She continued working as a highly artistic and sought-after stylist, until she met Chris Haffner, Marrying him in 1991. A year later, son Alexander came along. Chris was in the Navy, so the family of three moved to San Diego, then Honolulu, then Chicago, where Emily was born in 1998. They finally landed back at home in Minnesota in 2000 after Chris left the Navy for civilian life and the IT industry. Rhea decided to change careers and, up until recently, has been teaching at the Carol Mathey's Center for Families and Children.
Rhea was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer in December of 2016. She has been a fighter and dived into treatments headfirst and with extreme optimism. All who know her know how strong she is, but unfortunately cancer is stronger in this case. On Friday, October 6, she came home to hospice care surrounded by all who love her deeply.
Our beloved Rhea passed away at home on Monday, October 9, 2017.
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