Reid Hansford

Reid Hansford, 80, Reid's Cleaners

LAKE WALES -- Mr. Reid Hansford was an outdoorsman who in his retirement years enjoyed raising rabbits and various fowl.

"He raised quail and sold them here in town. There were ladies that would buy the quality eqgs so they could pickle them. And he raised peacocks and guineas," his daughter, Heidi Gravel of Lake Wales, said.

The retired owner and operator of Reid's Cleaners in Lake Wales died of heart failure Thursday (June 29, 2006) at home. He was 80.

Born in Union Point, Ga., on May 16, 1926, Mr. Hansford served in the Navy for three years during World War II, where he stationed on a mine sweeper.

Prior to coming to Polk County in 1946, he lived in Fort Myers where he worked in the dry cleaning industry. Locally, Mr. Hansford worked for Prather Dry Cleaners before he started his own business, Reid's Cleaners in Lake Wales. He owned and operated the business for 50 years before selling it and retiring in the 1990s.

He was an avid fisherman and hunter in his younger years. "He had cabins in the Ocala Forest. Every weekend and all summer we were gone," Gravel said. She described her father as a outgoing, loving man with a unique wit about him. She also noted that he was extremely close to his grandchildren, who affectionately referred to him as "Daddy Reid."

He was a member of the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Lake Wales. He was a Christian.

Mr. Hansford was preceded in death by his wife of 50 years, Eleanor H. Hansford, in 2001. In addition to his daughter Heidi Gravel, he is survived by his daughter, Reida Keen, Lake Wales; son, Robert Hansford, Tennessee; brother, Otha Hansford, Largo; sisters, Lois Davis, Mary Herring, both of Milledgeville, Ga.; six grandchildren.

Visitation will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Monday at Marion Nelson Funeral Home in Lake Wales. Memorial services will be at 1 p.m. Friday at Holy Spirit Catholic Church.

Memorials may be made to Circle of Friends Ministries, 105 E. Park Ave., Lake Wales, FL 33853.

Marion Nelson Funeral Home, Lake Wales.