Evelyn M. Reid

Evelyn “Eve” Maria Reid

“Eve” passed away peacefully on June 30, 2025. Born November 21, 1939, in Dearborn MI, she was the daughter of the late Rudolf and Maria Soellner. She attended Cooley High School in Detroit and graduated from Wayne State University with a BS degree in nursing. Eve earned an MFA from Western Michigan University.

Eve is lovingly remembered and will be missed by Kenneth Reid, her husband of 60 years, daughter, Heather, son-in law, Tom Voinaroski, and two grandchildren, Reid (Voinaroski) and Elise (Voinaroski). She is also survived by her brother Walter Soellner, his wife Sandra, and their daughter Anna. Preceding her in death was her son, David.

A gifted visual artist and teacher, Eve was active in both teaching and creating art. She was frequently called upon to lecture - particularly on handmade paper making. Eve taught art and art history at Western Michigan University and headed the papermaking program at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts. Further, she was instrumental in founding the Kalamazoo Hand Made Paper Guild and was a member of Signature Artists.

From childhood, Eve had an enduring passion for travel. She visited family relatives in Bavaria on numerous occasions, and, in recent years, traveled with Ken throughout Europe, Asia, and the United States. In 1994, while teaching at WMU, Eve was invited to serve as a visiting professor at Sookmyung University, Seoul Korea. There she researched the development of Korean paper making.

In 2002 Eve was invited by Amerika Haus in Munich, Germany to exhibit eighty-four of her impressionistic landscapes. Created with handmade paper, each landscape represented an hour of the day during the changing seasons.

For decades Eve and Ken spent summers at a cottage they built in Saugatuck, entertaining family and friends. Eve’s lasting gift will be her warm smile, compassionate counsel, and her enduring art. Love has bound us to Eve in life and will always sustain us with her loving memory.

Eve lived a life marked by love and art that endured her to all who knew her.

Eve’s family wishes to express its sincere gratitude and appreciation to the caregivers at Grace Valley Assisted Living for their unwavering care, support, and compassion.

A celebration of Eve’s life will be on Saturday, July 26, 2025 at 11:00 AM at St. Lukes Episcopal Church in Kalamazoo Michigan.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests any memorial donations in Eve’s memory be made to the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center.