JASON G. REED

JASON G. REED of Oakwood, IL died March 2, 2013 at the age of 39. He served his apprenticeship under Kent Leasure at Houghton-Leasure Funeral Home in Georgetown. He stayed on at the firm after the Darby family purchased it and he moved to Sunset Funeral Home in 1998. In 2000, he quit directing funerals to help serve families at Sunset Memorial Park. He served as national sales manager at Trigard Bronze. He partnered with Ray Francisco, where they co-founded Cremation Safeguard, a company that caught the attention of Phillip Short at Legacy Touch. Legacy Touch purchased it in 2012, and Jason was named chief operating officer. In 1993, he graduated from the Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, where he received his associate's degree in mortuary Science.