Born on June 29, 1931, in Washington, D.C., Reed received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from Duke University in 1954.
[1] Reed was nominated by President Richard Nixon on July 6, 1973, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida vacated by Judge William McRae.
[citation needed] After his resignation from the federal bench, Reed returned to private practice in Orlando, where he was a named partner with the firm of Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor & Reed, P.A.
He died on February 19, 2015, at the Transylvania Regional Hospital located in downtown Brevard, North Carolina.
He resided in the nearby unincorporated community of Sapphire, North Carolina after his retirement from the practice of law.