Paul Wingfield Reid, 87, of 823 Park Lane, Madison, Ga., passed away on October 16, 2010 at St. Mary's Hospital in Athens, Ga.


Born August 25, 1923, in his ancestral home, the Hunter House in Madison, he was the son of the late Paul Wingfield Reid, Sr. and Mamie Hunter Reid Burney, and stepson of the late Patrick Shields Burney, also of Madison.


He was predeceased by his wife of 44 years, Kathleen Harper, formerly of Thomasville, Ga., in 2000, a brother, Hudson Hunter Reid of Madison, and a sister Isabelle Reid Chevlin and her husband, Lt. Col. Myron Chevlin of Kailua, Hawaii.


Educated in the Madison school system, he later graduated from Georgia Military College in 1942 and attended the University of Georgia, majoring in business, and was a member of Kappa Alpha Order.


In 1942 he entered military service with the United States Army, training at Camp Swift, Texas. He was a staff sergeant and machine gunner in H Company, 2nd Battalion, 406th Regiment, 102nd Infantry Division, United States Ninth Army, and saw action in France, Belgium, Holland, and Germany, earning two battle stars for the Ardennes and Rhineland Campaigns. After the war he served in the Army counter intelligence corps before returning home in 1946.


He began his professional life as a sales representative for Madison-based Richter-Cochran Company and in the 1950s worked as a cotton broker with the Paul H. Ponder Compan and in the family business, Hunter Furniture Company. He later specialized in the fastner, container, and aerospace industries as a manufacturers representative for Gillett & Eaton Corporation, Gould Corporation, Camloc, Rex Chainbelt, and Edgewater Marine, among others. He held a fastner patent. In the final years of his working career, he served as a national account manager for Madison-based Pennington Seed Co.


He served on the Madison Airport Authority, Madison Industrial Development Board, Madison Chamber of Commerce, and was a member of American Legion Post 37. In addition, he was among a group of visionary Madisonians who, as part of the Morgan County Foundation, helped transform the old Madison Grade School, an 1895 Romanesque Revial facility that he attended as young boy, into the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center, a widely acclaimed regional visual and performaning arts center. It was during his board chairmanship of the MMCC that the facility was completely renovated and dedicated in 1976 with a keynote address by then governor George Busbee.


Mr. Reid was a member of and served as Sunday School secretary at Madison Baptist Church for many years before following his wife up the street to Madison Presbyterian Chuch after she accepted the position of church organist, which she held for 20 years prior to her death.


Witty and humorous, and a great admirer of those qualities in others, he was an accomplished storyteller, especially when it involved characters and history of Madison, and loved the company of friends and family. He was always thrilled to welcome newcomers to the community and church. His many interests included music, especially classical and big bands, aviation, science, astronomy, history, geography, golf, and tennis.


A loving husband, father, uncle, and grandfather, and friend to many, he is survived by sons Paul Wingfield Reid III of Madison, and Frank Hunter Reid and his wife, Jeanne Symmes Reid, and grandson Alexander Symmes Reid of Greenville, S.C.; and a daughter, Kathleen (Kathy) Reid Bangle and her husband, Dr. James Francis Bangle, and grandsons James Francis Bangle, Jr. and Reid Harper Bangle, of Athens, Ga., along with a brother and sister-in-law, James K. (Jimmy) Harper and his wife, Claire, of Atlanta, Ga., a nephew and three neices.


The family would like to express its deepest appreciation to the staff at the Madison House, Madison Police Department, Morgan County EMS, doctors, nurses, and staff at Atlanta Medical Center, Landmark Hospital of Athens, St. Mary’s Hospital of Athens, and Morgan Memorial Hospital/TCU, and St. Mary's Hospice for their professionalism and loving care. In addition the family is most grateful to the members of the Madison Presbyterian Church and numerous other Morgan County churches and citizens of Madison and Morgan County for their steadfast, prayerful support and love on hehalf of our father and family over the last several months.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the charity of one's choice or to either The Paul W. and Kathleen H. Reid Memorial Fund, which has been established through the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center in support of music programming, or the Madison Presbyterian Church.

Visitation is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 16, from 2:00-4:00 p.m. at A.E. Carter Funeral Home, 1670 Atlanta Highway, Madison.

Funeral services are set for Monday, Oct. 18 at 11:00 a.m. at the Madison Presbyterian Church, with Dr. Gary Cecil officiating. Internment will be in Madison Cemetery.