Roland Vail Reed of Franklin, Tennessee

April 21, 1958 - April 4, 2025

Roland Vail Reed, aged 66, of Franklin, Tennessee passed away in Nashville on April 4, 2025. In his final days, Roland was surrounded by numerous family members and friends, many of whom traveled from other states. Born in Monroe, North Carolina, Roland lived most of his adult life in Kentucky and Tennessee. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1980 and worked for UPS during college and beyond.

In 1984, Roland was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, Aplastic Anemia. With less than weeks to live, he and his youngest brother, Tom, traveled from North Carolina to The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, Washington. It was there that Roland underwent a bone marrow transplant with his brother’s bone marrow donation. After living in a plastic bubble for 3 months, Roland was released from the hospital and never relapsed from the illness. Roland was a man of strong Christian faith. Prayer and support from his church family in Monroe aided his recovery. He promised God that if he lived that he would become either a doctor or a lawyer. He chose to practice law.

A lifelong, avid Tar Heels basketball fan, it was Roland’s dream come true to attend law school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Graduating with his J.D. in 1989, he was selected for the American Jurisprudence Award for excellence in Constitutional law. It would remain a subject of keen interest for the rest of his life. Roland’s began working as a staff attorney for the Social Security Administration in the area of disability law in Paducah, Kentucky. There he was named a Duke of Paducah and selected by the Governor as a Kentucky Colonel. Roland was also active in the Lions Club. In 1991, Roland relocated to Nashville and continued his work with Social Security, later becoming a senior staff attorney. In all, Roland would served thirty years before retiring in 2021. Due to excellence in work, Roland was appointed to two national teams who worked on reform and review of disability cases. He also trained many new attorneys in the field. Roland was a mason and member of the Bellevue Lodge 716. In 2004, he worked on nights and weekends to earn an MBA degree from Vanderbilt.

Roland was known for kindness, a smile that lit up a room, a good sense of humor and sharing insight and wisdom. He was a loyal friend, supreme husband and responsible big brother. He worked hard to support his single mother and four younger siblings, often working two jobs. Roland was widely read in religion, politics and history. He also authored many poems and two books, Arlington’s Blood and Advance. FDR, Andrew Jackson and Seabiscuit were his heroes. He also loved watching The Outlaw Josey Wales, The Matrix, and NFL football. His favorite teams were The Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans.

Roland married Christine Henchar Reed nearly 30 years ago at Andrew Jackson’s estate, The Hermitage. They enjoyed true romance, companionship and a faith-based relationship. The couple shared a passion for watching sports, especially as fans of UNC and Vanderbilt. Roland is also survived by his brothers, Randy and Tom (Mayra) and a sister Candace Myers (Andy), nieces Hannah, McKenzie, Aspen and nephews, Bradley and Austin as well as God children, Joshua, Percy, Naomi and Caleb. He was predeceased by his parents and brother, Lane.

A Memorial Service honoring Roland will be held in The Carpenter Chapel at Woodmont Christian Church in Nashville on April 26, 2025 at eleven o’clock. You can help remember Roland with donations to The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center or Woodmont Christian Church.