Reed, Peter J. Age 83 of Minneapolis, died November 22, 2018. Survived by wife Maggie; sister Pamela Corben of Norwich, England; niece Elizabeth Clarke and her family, also of Norwich; nephew Julian Corben and his family of Sydney, Australia; and other family in England. Peter was born in London, where he lived until his home was bombed during the Blitz. He grew up in Valley End, Surrey, and in high school took up running, sometimes working out at the Woking running club where he met Chris Chataway (a pacesetter for Roger Bannister's four-minute mile) and Gordon Pirie, another well known distance runner, who became a mentor. After school Peter served four years in the RAF, hoping to become a pilot. His color blindness disqualified him from pilot's training, a disappointment for him, but a major factor in his decision to come to the U.S. He had continued running during his time in the RAF and he, along with three other English distance runners, was recruited by a coach from the US Olympic team to come to this country in 1956. They all earned degrees at the University of Idaho and became a successful cross-country team. Peter did graduate study at Harvard and the University of Washington, where he earned a PhD in English literature. In 1965 he joined the faculty of the English Department at the University of Minnesota as a scholar of twentieth century British and American fiction and poetry. During his years at the University, he received the Morse-Amoco Award for Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education, and served as English Department chair and as associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts. He was the first to write a booklength treatment of Kurt Vonnegut's novels and continued to write other studies of Vonnegut's work. The two became lifelong friends. Peter had a wide circle of friends and in recent years became a "regular" for breakfast at the Original Pancake House in Edina, where he greatly enjoyed the friendships of others who dined there frequently. He valued especially the friendship of the servers who came to know him well and took care to get his breakfast order just the way he liked it. He loved animals and had a special affection for turtles. He was artistic, using his talent to produce a range of drawings: aviation art, sketches of the Valley End landscape, even cartoons of friends he enjoyed teasing. Peter was and his family are grateful to two of his long-time doctors at the University of Minnesota Health Clinic and Surgery Center: Bradley Benson, his primary care doctor, and Craig Henke, his pulmonologist. One couldn't ask for better care. A memorial service is being planned and will be held at a later date. Organizations Peter has supported, for those wishing to contribute to a memorial, are the World Wildlife Fund, 1250 24th Street NW, Washington DC 20037; the Sea Turtle Conservancy, 4424 N.W. 13th Street, Suite B-11, Gainesville, FL 32609; and Turtle Island Restoration Network, P.O. Box 370, Forest Knolls, CA 94033.

Published on December 2, 2018