Andrew Reid funeral to be held today
Published Saturday November 28th, 2009
Sudden death | Man shot dead by Texas deputy
Family, friends and acquaintances of a Fredericton man shot and killed last week by a sheriff's deputy in west Texas will say goodbye to him this afternoon.
A funeral service for Thomas Andrew Reid is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Greenwood Drive Baptist Church.
Reid, who was wheelchair bound, was killed Nov. 20 in Fort Stockton, Texas, following a series of unusual events.
The Fredericton High School graduate was arrested by Pecos County deputies the day before - after he apparently became upset over traffic delays caused by a highway accident.
He was subsequently released and taken to a nearby hotel until a family member could pick him up.
Reid was shot the next day during a scuffle with deputies outside the facility. He gained possession of one of the deputy's guns, fired a round and then allegedly pointed the weapon at a deputy.
The incident is being investigated by the Texas Rangers.
The two deputies involved have been placed on paid leave until the investigation is complete.
Reid was en route from his home in California to visit friends in Austin, Texas, when he became involved with police. At one point in his life, he had lived and worked in Texas.
After graduating from Fredericton High School in 1989, Reid attended Carleton University in Ottawa, where he graduated in 1993 with a bachelor degree in public administration. He coupled this in 1995 with a computer-programming diploma from Algonquin College.
In 1999, while surfing in San Diego, Reid suffered a spinal stroke that left him paralyzed from the waist down.
In 2001, he became the Canadian national hand-cycling champion and in 2002 he recorded the first of two CDs with Champ Covington.
Reid also wrote a real-time account of his drug problem called Keel Over & Die in 2005.
Two years later, he graduated with a master's degree in addiction counselling from Hazelden Graduate School in Minnesota.
Reid was unemployed at the time of his death and was working at regaining use of his legs.
Doug Duncan, a longtime friend, is organizing a memorial service for Reid. It will be held Tuesday in Ottawa.
"There are a lot of people here who are coming - probably 200," Duncan said.
"There's going to be a lot of pictures come out of it. I have videos of him with his races and we're going to be showing people that. If I pass away, I want people to have a party for me and, really, that is what we're having for him. It's a memorial service, some music, some drinks and let's remember Andrew."
Duncan said he has lost a lot of friends over the years and it never gets any easier, although the last few days has helped ease the sense of loss a bit.
"We're all headed the same way," Duncan said.
"Andrew happened to get off the bus a few exits early. I feel very badly for it and life goes on. He preached that to guys in his counselling - life goes on. 'Let's get through this and make things better.'"
More information on the Ottawa memorial can be obtained by writing Duncan at dduncan@blackcoral.net.
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