She came from a large family with sisters Gladys, LaVerne, Betty Jane, Emily, and Helen and brothers Ernest, Arnold, John, Edwin, Raymond, Emil and William who died as a baby.
[5][2][6][3][7][8][9][10] Reed was the Professor of Yup'ik and became the director of UAF's Alaska Native Language Center.
[2][11][12][3][10] In the summers, Reed taught written language and grammar to locals in Bristol Bay, St Mary's and Bethel.
Alan Boraas, who taught anthropology at Kenai Peninsula College called it the "most significant scholarship undertaken in Alaska".
[15] Apart from her work with the Alaskan language, Reed, with Niilo Koponen, founded the "Fairbanks Finns" organization.
Reed lived in Fairbanks until a fall at her home in July 1996 forced her to return to Automba in 1997 where family could look after her.