Edgar Thomas Reeves III

Edgar “Tom” Thomas Reeves III of King & Queen County, Shackleford passed away on March 31 at his home. He was the son of the late Edgar Jr. and Kathryn McLean Reeves of Mathews County. Tom was born on Aug. 10, 1942, while his father, a lawyer, was at several duty stations as a Red Cross officer during WW 2. After the war, his family returned to Louisa County where his grandfather and relatives had farms. After about 12 years of practicing law there, his father decided to move his practice to Mathews County and further enjoy, with Tom and two siblings, boating, fishing and exploring the Chesapeake Bay. Tom enjoyed Mathews High School, especially the band and science, and graduated in 1960. Tom attended the U.S. Naval Academy and decided after one year to finish his Naval service in the Reserves. He worked at Newport News shipyard and gained interest in electrical crafts. He was accepted into and completed the NASA-Langley Field electrical apprentice program during the ramp up toward the orbital and moon missions. In December 1962, he married Sue Kyle of Lunenburg County. They did lots of projects, whole house wiring jobs, wood shop creations and old-time music events together until her death in 2022. Their interest in and many hours of work for the “Virginia Folk Music Association” led to them both being elected to their Board of Directors and making many friends. While Tom was at NASA- Langley Field, he arranged time shifts so he could earn an associate degree from Thomas Nelson Community College. He then was accepted at Virginia Tech, where he earned a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering and Sue earned a “key supporter” award. Tom had interests in electrical generation and in 1974 was hired by The Chesapeake Corp. in West Point, Va. as an electrical engineer. Chesapeake’s whole pulp, paper and utility departments depended upon *large amounts of dependable electrical generation and distribution from the Powerhouse/Chemical Recovery Dept. Tom progressed through technical and managerial roles. He could tell several stories of the challenges, extra hours, night calls, etc. that were required to keep the many electrical systems online. About two years after St. Laurent took over Chesapeake, Tom was able to gain early retirement. Tom’s father died in 1967 from acute leukemia. Tom and Sue devoted extra time, love and resources to assisting both his mother and her mother, who was alone on a rural farm. As Tom’s mother had increasing difficulty living alone in an old 2-story house, Tom built an addition onto his 1-story house. She lived there for winters, then stayed there for over 2 years before her death in 1996. Tom is survived by older sister Mary McLean Reeves of Richmond and younger brother John Blair Reeves of Rockingham County. John’s daughter Beth and son Blair are his niece and nephew. A memorial graveside service will be held 2 PM, Monday, April 28 at Poroporone Baptist Church Cemetery, 30071 The Trail, Shacklefords, VA 23156 in King & Queen Co., next to where his wife Sue is buried. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to a group they supported: Lower King & Queen FIRE - EMS; P.O. Box 187, Shacklefords, Va. 23156.

Edgar Thomas Reeves III

August 10, 1942 - March 31, 2025