Catherine Bedell Reynolds

Catherine Bedell Reynolds, 59, passed away on December 11 after a prolonged battle with pancreatic and breast cancer. The wife of Salisbury homebuilder Paul B. “(Rick)” Reynolds Jr, the two were together 10 years and resided in Salisbury. Mrs. Reynolds, from Bethesda, MD, was a member of the Colonial Dames of America and the Mayflower Society. Educated at the Madeira School, she was an accopmplished equestrian. She graduated cum laude from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, and spent a year studying abroad in Paris. She led an extraordinary career in politics and crisis communications. Appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1982, she was the youngest member of his Senior White House Staff, serving seven years. She continued serving the government under President George H.W. Bush as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs. She oversaw the administration response as it handled public crises such as the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, and various others. Catherine served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications and Legislative Affairs for the Governor of New Mexico. She also represented the Mescalero Apache Tribe in the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dispute. In 1999, she moved to Denver, CO, to become head of Public Relations for the University of Colorado Hospital and Health Sciences Center. She was instrumental in helping the facility transition from a crowded downtown campus to a new campus. She met her husband while on a cruise ship in Casablanca, Morocco and they have been inseparable since. In addition to her husband Rick, she leaves behind her mother Julie Bedell of Church Hill, MD and was preceded in death by her father, the late Rowland H. S. Bedell, MD, of Bethesda, MD. She also leaves behind her uncle Peter Bedell (Dorothy) of Philadelphia; her three brothers William (Teresa) of Olney, and their four sons, Derek, William, Russell and Doug; Rowland Jr. “(Rob)” (Jennifer) of Church Hill and their children Allison and Michael; and Peter Alexander (Laura) and their daughter Brooke. The family will receive friends from 10-11 AM Saturday (Jan. 6, 2018) at Summersett Funeral Home in Salisbury, NC. A Celebration of Life service will follow at 11 AM in the Summersett Memorial Chapel. Following the service friends are invited to the Forest Glen Community Clubhouse for a reception. She requests support for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, 1500 Rosecrans Ave, Suite 200, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266-3721 or www.pancan.org Summersett Funeral Home is serving the Reynolds family. Online condolences may be made at www.summersettfuneralhome.com.

Catherine Bedell Reynolds

December 11, 2017