Jamie Soukup Reid, 25, of Philadelphia, previously a life long Sammamish resident, and her loving husband, William “Will” Reid, 26,passed away Sunday, August 11, 2013 in Asheville, NC as a result of an auto accident.
Jamie Soukup Reid was born April 14, 1988 in the western suburbs of Chicago, the daughter of Ron and Kay (Sato) Soukup. In 1990, when Jamie was 2, her family moved to what later became the city of Sammamish. She remained a Sammamish resident until her college graduation.
William “Will” J. Reid, 26, of Philadelphia was born November 2, 1986 the son of Dr. James and Anne (Myers) Reid of Phillipsburg, NJ.
They had attended a friend’s wedding in Asheville, NC and were passengers the following day in a hired town car taking them to the airport for the flight back to Philadelphia. The car unexpectedly veered off the interstate, down a ravine, and hit a tree. Jamie died instantly of a broken neck. Will was briefly conscious, concerned only that the EMT’s knew that Jamie was pregnant in her first trimester. He died shortly after emergency surgery. Both Jamie and Will were wearing seatbelts and appropriately restrained. The driver remains in intensive care, and has not been able to give a statement. Toxicology results on the driver are pending.
Jamie and Will were married only 78 days before their tragic deaths. Their wedding was a joyous, unique and wonderful service in Philadelphia on May 26, 2013. Jamie had always said she wanted “a dozen children.” They were so looking forward to being parents, and Ron, Kay, Jim and Anne were all thrilled at the prospect of their first grandchild.
Jamie attended Christa McAuliffe Elementary school, Inglewood Junior High, and Eastlake High School. She attended (and loved) Whitman College in Walla Walla, graduating in 2010, Magna Cum Laude, Honors English.
Will was the Valedictorian for Phillipsburg High School Class of 2005, and earned a rare perfect score on his SAT. He received a BA degree from Dartmouth College.
Following their undergraduate degrees, both Jamie and Will joined Teach For America (TFA) in 2010 and were assigned to Philadelphia, where they met. Both completed their two year TFA commitment, but then also completed a third year of teaching. They would have started their fourth year teaching this week.
Jamie taught writing and literature to 7th graders in some of the toughest inner city Philadelphia schools. She currently was teaching at Harrity Elementary, a Mastery Charter School in west Philadelphia.
Will was a math teacher with People for People Charter School in Philadelphia. This year, Will was promoted to Chairman of the Math Department.
Jamie and Will both earned Masters Degrees in Urban Education, from the University of Pennsylvania. They graduated side by side in May 2012 with all four proud parents in attendance together.
Jamie loved literature, poetry, and music. She enjoyed doing the NY Times crossword puzzle with her mom, and playing chess with her Dad. She & Will enjoyed Trivial Pursuit marathons against Jamie’s parents, Ron & Kay.
Will enjoyed running, skiing and reading. He had a curious, amazingly quick mind, and seemed to know a bit about most everything. Everyone always expected to someday see him on the Jeopardy Tournament of Champions.
In addition to her loving parents, Ron & Kay Soukup of Sammamish, Jamie is survived by her older sister Kelly Soukup Lyman,brother-in-law David Lyman, and her grandmother, Mary Snyder; as well as aunts and uncles, Evelyn & Kriss Peters of Graham, WA; Sibylle & Larry Horvath of Crown Point, IN; Robert & Lynn Soukup of Naperville, IL; and Cynthia Snyder & Kyle Angelo of Seattle.
In addition to his loving parents Dr. James and Anne Reid of Phillipsburg, NJ. , Will is survived by a brother, Patrick and a sister, Leslie, both at home in Phillipsburg. Will is also survived by many loving aunts, uncles and cousins.
Memorial funeral services for Will and Jamie will be held Saturday, August 17, 2013 at the Doyle-Devlin Funeral Home in Phillipsburg, NJ.
There will be a Celebration of Life for Jamie and Will on Sunday, August 25, 2013 at 1 p.m. at the Plateau Club in Sammamish, WA. http://www.plateauclub.com/
Contributions may be made to the Jamie Soukup Reid Memorial Scholarship fund, Whitman College, 345 Boyer Ave, Walla Walla, WA 99362.
Alternatively, contributions may be made to William and Jamie Reid Scholarship Fund for the Valedictorian, c/o Phillipsburg High School, 200 Hillcrest Boulevard, Phillipsburg, NJ 08865 with checks payable to: Phillipsburg High School.