Indiana Reed, a well-known communication and marketing consultant in Durango, died June 17 after suffering complications from brain surgery.
Known to friends and family as “Indi,” she was born Karen Mardel Reed in Alhambra, California, the daughter of Dorothy and David Reed, on Feb. 5, 1955.
Among the clients Reed, 66, worked with in assisting with communications, public relations and marketing were Peak Food & Beverage Co., the owner of Steamworks Brewing Co., El Moro Spirits and Tavern, and Bird’s.
She also provided communications and public relations services to the Durango Business Improvement District, the Durango Chamber of Commerce, the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College and La Plata Electric Association.
She was also involved in Leadership La Plata, a leadership skills training class offered by the Chamber of Commerce.
“I would say she was one of the integral people to make Leadership La Plata. We’re proud of what that is today. She provided an incredible amount of input. She served on the steering committee and the communication committee,” said Jack Llewellyn, executive director of the Durango Chamber of Commerce.
Llewellyn said Reed would cook a vast spread for each graduating class of Leadership La Plata.
“I’d say, ‘Indi, you must have been cooking all day.’ And she’d say, ‘Oh, Jack, I’ve been cooking for three days,’” Llewellyn said.
Llewellyn particularly remembers a chocolate, peanut candy Reed made that was hard to resist.
“She called it ‘crack,’” Llewellyn said.
Her interest in astrology led Reed to create short astrological descriptions for each of the graduating members of Leadership La Plata, an annual tradition that will be missed, Llewellyn said.
Reed often helped the chamber with its communication strategy, its news releases and she would often offer input, advice and proofread Llewellyn’s columns written for chamber publications and for The Durango Herald.
Reed was hired in 2006 as a news reporter for Four Corners Broadcasting, which operates four different radio stations in the region. She quickly developed specialty programs focusing on the regional business scene, and events at the Community Concert Hall and downtown Durango, said Kristin Dills, operations manager with Four Corners Broadcasting.
“She provided businesses with something a little different, something more than just a commercial,” Dills said. “In essence, it was a little background about the business world in our little neck of the woods.”
Reed was a frequent contributor to regional and local publications, including Durango Magazine, a long-standing, lifestyle and visitor information magazine.
Reed’s passion for cooking led her to assemble a huge collection of cookbooks. She enjoyed hosting dinners, birthdays, and other special events with friends, her mother, neighbors and a long-standing women’s group, according to her obituary on Tribute Archive.
In her neighborhood, she was known for making healthful pet treats for her golden retriever, Olivia, and other neighborhood pets, the obituary said.
She never missed daily walks or playtime with Olivia.
According to the obituary, she moved to Durango in the early 1990s from Southern California, where she owned a public relations firm.
She was a graduate in 1977 from the Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Arts in English, journalism and public relations.
Reed also enjoyed gardening, landscaping and working on her home, located west of Durango, Llewellyn said.
Foxes, deer and other wildlife were frequently visible from her windows, something that pleased her, Llewellyn said.
At the time of her death, she was considering writing a children’s book, “The Adventures of Miss Fox,” her obituary said.
Besides gardening and landscaping, Reed enjoyed interior decorating and quilting, her obituary said.
Reed is survived by her mother, Dorothy (Dottie) Reed of Durango; her brother, Kevin Reed of Tacoma, Washington; and her brother’s family.
She was preceded in death by her father, David Reed.
Based on her wishes, no services are planned. Reed wanted memorial contributions to go to her two favorite organizations in the Durango area: The Hundred Club and the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College.
parmijo@durangoherald.com
