SAUGUS — Board of Selectmen clerk and former School Committee chair Wendy Reed died Friday morning of a heart attack, the Saugus Police Department and Board of Selectmen Chair Anthony Cogliano confirmed. She was 57.
Characterized by many who knew her as a giving spirit, her death was met with an outpouring of grief from the Saugus community.
Cogliano, who was a member of the board when Reed was first hired to her clerk position in the 1990s, described her as “just a genuine, good person,” and said from the moment she stepped into the role, she became an “instant asset” to the town.
“She knew the position inside and out and was like having a sixth selectman,” Cogliano said. “I don’t know what I’ll do without her.”
School Committee member and friend Dennis Gould worked alongside Reed while she served as director of the Saugus Food Pantry for years. He said her enthusiasm for helping others and her natural leadership abilities were evident to all who had the pleasure of knowing her.
“Wendy was a kind and giving person,” he said. “She always gave herself willingly, and not for awards or recognition, but to truly assist others.”
However, the full extent of Reed’s community service isn’t widely known, he said, recalling the work she did alongside Pastor Martha Leahy of First Congregational United Church of Christ to combat homelessness in Saugus, as well as her involvement with nonprofit organization, HAWC (Healing Abuse Working for a Change).
Reed was also recognized as a 2020 Community All-Star by Essex Media Group for her dedication to feeding families through the Saugus Food Pantry during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“She cared about everybody. The funny thing is, she wasn’t a wealthy person or anything like that, but she gave everything she could,” Gould said. “Wendy was what is best about our Saugonians, and (she’s) a friend I’ll deeply miss.”
Selectman Michael Serino said Reed always knew to text him if she needed help with deliveries for the food pantry, and remembered conversations the two had about Reed’s mother and her hometown of East Boston.
“She always used to talk about going there to eat and visit her mother,” Serino said. “I really got to know her working for the food pantry. My sincerest regrets and thoughts (to her family).”
Reed, a former fourth grade Sunday School teacher at Blessed Sacrament, was actively involved in Saugus education and served as a member of various Parent Teacher Associations, as a volunteer noon aid, and as officer at the Evans Elementary and Belmonte Middle School.
She first ran for School Committee in 1997 and served on the board until 2001, choosing to take a few years off for family obligations before returning once again to the role in November 2005.
“She gave so much to our town and was such a valuable resource to residents, applicants, and town officials,” said Selectman Jeff Cicolini. “Wendy and I forged a nice friendship over the past six years working together. She was a selfless person who was always willing to help out those in need.
“Her volunteerism at the food pantry was crucial for so many families in need and I am sure it will take several people to fill the void she leaves behind.”
Selectwoman Debra Panetta, who served alongside Reed on the School Committee and worked closely with her on the Board of Selectmen, noted Reed often talked about her pride in her three adult sons, Stephen, Jimmy, and Scott.
“She used to tell me how proud she was of her sons, and my heart goes out to each of them,” Panetta said, adding: “At our last meeting, the Board of Selectmen commented on what a great job she did with the annual report, and we all thanked her. I am so happy that we got to acknowledge the excellent job she did one more time.
“Wendy was a friend and colleague, and she will be missed.”
Board of Selectmen Vice Chair Corinne Riley knew Reed for more than a decade, having previously served two terms with her on the Saugus School Committee.
She also remembered Reed as a proud mother who loved to talk about her children.
“She talked a lot about them with me, and her face would light up,” Riley said. “Even if she was telling me something about them today, I felt the boys were protected by a mom who thought they were still five years old. Her love for them was so strong and she showed it.”
Riley said Reed was a private person who “hated the limelight” and “did not pull any punches,” and recalled how Reed declined two recognitions for her dedication to the food bank because she didn’t want to call attention to herself.
“She didn’t show her true feelings or talk about personal issues. The first time she said to me, ‘I shouldn’t be telling you this…’, I knew she trusted me and believed me. That meant something if she confided in you,” Riley said, adding that Reed had a sense of humor that could be “so unexpected, you would laugh even harder.
“I will miss her terribly,” she said. “Saugus has lost a person who did so much for the people who live here.”
Elyse Carmosino can be reached at [email protected].
