Helen Louise (Grigsby) Reed (1915 - 2013)

Born 9 Aug 1915 in Sanderstead, Surrey, England

Ancestors

Died 12 Apr 2013 at age 97 in Spring Valley, California, USA

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Biography

Daughter of Owen & Maude. Helen was one year old when she came to the US in 1916, aboard the "New York". She was born in England but her parents were both native born United States citizens.

Helen married Carl Doss in 1937. They were unable to have children, but "all in the world I wanted was a happy, normal little family." They adopted a baby boy, Donny. They wanted to adopt a little girl next, but had extreme difficulty due to their financial situation. Carl was a minister and they lived on very little income. They tried private adoption, but that didn't work out either.

Going back to public agencies, a social worker once commented on a baby of mixed race (Turkish and Portuguese), saying that they can't place the child: "That's what happens with those mixed-blood children... Nobody wants them. They are classed as unadoptable, same as any child with a defect." They thought it was horrible that anyone would reject a child for its heritage, and sought out "unadoptable" children. Although they had only thought of a "little family", they ended up with a total of 12 adopted children. In her book, she details their struggles to adopt, as well as the racism and prejudice they faced as a "mixed" family.

Helen and Carl divorced in 1966. He died in 1994. She married Roger Reed in 1984. They retired to Tucson, Arizona.

Children (in order of adoption, with their heritage):

1 Donny (Caucasian)

2 Susie (Caucasian, a very sickly infant)

3 Laura (Filipino-Chinese-English-French)

4 Teddy (Filipino-Malayan-Spanish)

5 Rita (Mexican-Indian)

6 Timmy (Mexican-Japanese)

7 Alex (Japanese-Burmese-Korean)

8 Elaine (Japanese-Balinese-French-Irish)

9 Diane (Chinese-Hawaiian-East Indian-Malayan-French-Irish)

10 Gregory (Cheyenne-Blackfoot)

11 Dorothy (Welsh-English-French)

12 Richard (Chippewa-Canadian-Blackfoot-Scottish-American)

Obituary

HELEN GRIGSBY DOSS REED 97, passed away on April 12, 2013 in Spring Valley, California.

She was the mother of 12 adopted children of widely diverse ethnic backgrounds. Her 1954 account of these adoptions, The Family Nobody Wanted, became an international best seller. She continued writing books for all age groups through 1981, totaling 13 in all.

Helen was born Helen Louise Grigsby, August 9, 1915 in Sanderstead, Surrey, England. She was raised in Illinois where she married Carl Doss in 1937. She and Carl eventually made their home in Redlands, CA in 1953. Some of the children continue to make Redlands and the surrounding communities, their home.

Helen later married Roger Reed in 1984 in Tucson, AZ. She and Roger retired to Mount Miguel Covenant Village, Spring Valley, CA in 2006.

Helen is survived by nine of her twelve children; Dorothy, Don, Elaine, Ted, Lora, Susie, Rita, Diane and Tim; sister, Jane Watts; stepsons, John and Jim Reed; 32 grandchildren, 47 great-grandchildren, three great-great grandchildren.

She was predeceased by Carl Doss (1994); three sons, Greg (1996), Richard (1997), Alex (2009); husband, Roger Reed (March 18, 2013).

Private memorial services will be held for Helen and Roger Reed at their last residence, Mount Miguel Covenant Village in Spring Valley, California.

Sources

• 1940 US census

• New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957

• Cook County, Illinois Marriage Index, 1930-1960

• https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/redlandsdailyfacts/obituary.aspx?n=helen-grigsby-doss-reed&pid=164319762

• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/119619109/helen-louise-doss-reed

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Family_Nobody_Wanted

• https://www.redlandsdailyfacts.com/2013/04/18/onetime-redlands-author-helen-doss-reed-dies-at-age-97/

• https://pages.uoregon.edu/adoption/topics/familynobodywanted.htm

• https://pages.uoregon.edu/adoption/archive/DossOIF.htm

• https://grabthelapels.com/2019/03/28/the-family-nobody-wanted/

• https://adventuresofgrandmahoney.blogspot.com/2015/02/what-ever-happened-to-don-doss.html