NATICK: Desmond F. Reeves, Sr., age 70, of Natick, formerly of Milford, died after a brief illness on Friday morning, October 12, 2012, at the MetroWest Medical Center in Framingham. He was the beloved husband of Josephine (Dias) Reeves.
Born with his twin brother in Cambridge on October 25, 1941, he was a son of the late Joseph Leo and Alice T. (Carney) Reeves. Desmond was raised and educated in Newton and enlisted with the US Air Force after briefly attending MIT. An Airman 2nd Class, he was a regular altar server at Catholic Masses wherever he was stationed and was a member of the Air Force Judo team.
Desmond spent nearly two years after his service in Germany and France learning interior design. He returned to the states and lived in Milford prior to settling in Natick in 1969. Employed in carpet sales at the Natick Sears store for 36 years, he simultaneously ran Desi’s Decors out of his home for several years. In the mid to late 60s, he had been the decorating guru on an interior design program that ran on Channel 5.
Desmond was a devoted and enthusiastic member of the Oddfellows and Rebekahs of Massachusetts and Washington, DC. A life member of the Pequod Lodge #229 in Holliston, he was Past Grand Patriarch of the Grand Encampment of MA, Past Deputy Commander of the Southern New England Patriarchs General, Past Warden of the Grand Lodge of MA, and most recently had been a Brigadier General, serving as Medical Officer of the General Military Council, Patriarchs General, of the Grand Lodge of Oddfellowship. An avid golfer, Desmond also oversaw an annual tournament benefiting the Arthritis Foundation, volunteered annually to work phones at the MDA telethon, and every Tuesday for the past several years had given his time to the Natick Food Pantry on Cottage Street.
Five years into his retirement, Desmond decided to grow his beard out and aspired to share even more of himself with those around him – as Santa Claus. Since 2003, he has spread Father Christmas’ joy at malls in Marlborough, Brockton, and on the Cape, at Patriot Place, and, most importantly, each Christmas Eve at the MetroWest Medical Center in Framingham. Devoted to his family and his faith, Desmond’s door was open to all who came to him and so was his heart.
He is survived by Josephine; four sons, Robert Wagner of Southborough, Desmond F. Reeves, Jr. and his wife Pamela of Pembroke Pines, FL, Andrew Reeves and his wife Lisa of Swansea, IL, and Daniel Reeves of Mamaroneck, NY; two daughters, Deborah White of Armada, MI, and Beckie-Jo Hebert of Worcester; two brothers, Robert Reeves of Milton, NH, and Donald Reeves and his wife Eleanor of Ft. Myers, FL; 16 grandchildren and many nieces and nephews, and grandnieces and nephews.
His funeral will be from the John Everett & Sons Funeral Home, 4 Park Street at Natick Common, Natick, on Tuesday, Oct. 16th at 9:00a.m. with a Mass of Christian Burial in Saint Patrick’s Church, 44 East Central Street, Natick, at 10:00a.m. Committal Services at the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne will be private.
Visiting hours will be on Monday 2 – 4 & 6 – 8p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Desi’s memory to Camp NEOFA, P.O. Box 101, Liberty, ME 04949.