Elizabeth ("Betty") Ashton Reed, 87, passed away peacefully surrounded by family in her home in Nellysford, VA on July 30, 2022.

She was born in Philadelphia to the late William S. Ashton and Sarah Briscoe Hodges Ashton, and younger sister of the late Augustus T. Ashton II.

She is survived by her loving husband Hugh McHale Reed, Sr. and 8 children primarily raised in McLean, VA - Hugh M. Reed, Jr., of Dallas, TX, Timothy Reed of Vienna, VA, Brian Reed of Keswick, VA, Mary Elizabeth ("Missy") Reed Norair of Fredericksburg, VA, Patricia Reed Centeno of St. Louis, MO, Kathleen Reed of Ashburn, VA, Walter Reed II of Vienna, VA, and Matthew Reed of Murfreesboro, TN, and nineteen grandchildren.

In 1956, she graduated from Rosemont College in Bryn Mawr, PA where she was on the tennis and field hockey teams, later joining the U.S. field hockey team that represented the country in international competitions.  Before graduation she passed the U.S. Foreign Service Exam and was the first woman admitted to the Georgetown University Foreign Service School graduate program. While there she met and married her husband Hugh. After her husband's military stints in the JAG Corp in Charlottesville, VA and White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, she returned to the Washington, D.C. area to raise her family.  Betty was an active volunteer with Spinal Bifida pediatric patients at Georgetown Hospital.  She was also believed to have been the oldest licensed emergency first responder and ambulance driver in Virginia volunteering for the Wintergreen Volunteer Rescue Squad and retiring at age 75.

Betty also earned a Master Gardener's Certificate from Virginia Tech and used her love and knowledge of plants as the manager of Southern States Garden Center in Charlottesville for approximately 10 years.  Betty never met a stranger and talked to everyone, especially on her ten trips to Ireland.  She was known for her competitive spirit and spent many hours on the sidelines cheering on her children and her grandchildren.

The funeral will be held at St John the Evangelist Catholic Church at 301 Sheppard Ct, Waynesboro VA, 22980 on August 5th, 2022 at 2:00 p.m.  The family will receive friends in the chapel at 1:00 p.m. The reception will be held at the family's home, 133 Hunters Point Road.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to Fredericksburg Academy, 10800 Academy Dr., Fredericksburg, VA 22408. https://www.fredericksburgacademy.org/betty-reed

Online condolences may be expressed at www.mcdowfuneralhomeinc.com