Memorial to ‘special guy’ takes flight

Public memorials are usually created for those whose lives were lived in public, whether they were governors or mayors or famous authors such as Ken Kesey.

But T.J. Reed had such a profound effect on the lives of those closest to him that they have decided to create a place where they can always visit his spirit and pay their respects.

“He was a good friend to a lot of people,” said Jim Robinson, owner of Daichi Landscape in Eugene, where Reed worked for several years as a laborer, landscaper and stone mason. “He was a special guy.”

Register-Guard readers might remember Reed’s story that appeared in the paper six years ago, as well as on the cover of the Aug. 6, 2005, “TV Week.”

The 2001 South Eugene High School graduate was just 21 when he was diagnosed in the spring of 2004 with leukemia. After a worldwide search for a bone-marrow donor, finally found in Germany, a transplant later that year at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle saved Reed’s life. And his story, “A Brand New Life,” was documented by a Seattle filmmaker and aired on Oregon Public Broadcasting in August 2005.

After six years of remission, however, Reed’s leukemia returned last year. Although a second bone-marrow transplant, from a Texas donor, was initially successful earlier this year — after yet more months spent in Seattle — his body ultimately rejected it. He died July 6 at the age of 28 at University of Washington Medical Center.

“He was never a quitter,” said Reed’s former girlfriend Ashlee Pulliam of Eugene. “He was never going to give up.”

About 450 people attended Reed’s memorial service at The Shedd Institute in Eugene, Robinson said. And that’s where the idea of one of his former employees and Reed’s co-workers, Bill Murphy, came to fruition.

Why not ask mourners to donate so the company could build a memorial in Reed’s honor?

“It was amazing how quickly we were able to raise the money,” said Murphy, who knew Reed since he was a young boy.

Almost $6,000 has been raised, Robinson said. That money will go toward the stone and basalt that’s needed to create a curved two-tiered bench with plaque that will hopefully be built in Hendricks Park. About 10 former co-workers and others who knew Reed will donate their time to build it, Robinson said, saving between $5,000 and $7,000 that normally would be spent on labor for such a project, he said.

“They all liked working with him because he was such a comedian,” Robinson said.

Murphy submitted design plans to the city of Eugene’s Parks and Open Space division last week.

“We have a lot of memorial benches in various places,” said Neil Bjorklund, planning manager for Parks and Open Space. But he said this request is somewhat unusual in its scope, which could mean a review process that takes a little longer.

Robinson and Murphy would like to begin constructing the memorial this month before fall rains hit and said it would take two or three weeks. Review processes for such projects typically take two or three weeks, also, although more complex projects can take longer, Bjorklund said.

If the Hendricks Park site is not accepted, another location for the memorial could be off of East 30th Avenue near Laurelwood Golf Course, said T.J. Reed’s father, Tim Reed.

“We can’t thank everybody enough for making this thing happen,” Tim Reed said. “We’re just so thankful people wanted to step up and do this.”