Arlene M. (Poitras) Pratt - Reed

Arlene was born and raised in Lowell, Massachusetts where her Canadian French parents, Jeanne (Moreau) and Romeo Poitras made their home. Her Grandmother, Laura Daigle came to Lowell from a small village outside of Quebec. Arlene didn’t’ speak English very well during her early grammar school years and described being bullied and excluded because of it. All of her education was in Catholic schools and her faith in God carried her through many hardships and illness throughout her life. The Canadian French blessed, Marguerite D’Youville, was a big influence in her faith and her mother’s as well. She was a Canadian foundress beatified by His Holiness, Pope John XXIII on May 3, 1959. All of her and her mother’s clothing always has an amulet with her picture safely pinned to them. 

In the 1990’s, Arlene became a parishioner of Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted Parish in Waltham, MA. She became a Eucharistic Minister there and spent decades being very active in the church community. Fr. Jim DePerri was one of her most respected and loved people in her life. He was very kind and generous when she became terminally ill. 

Her American dream was always to become a registered nurse. After graduating from Keith Hall High School in 1956, she attended St. Joseph’s Nursing School. After graduating, she was encouraged to enter the military as a 1st Lieutenant. Being in the Air Force she was a proud veteran and was known for her patriotism and strong conservative values. In recent years she was mortified and saddened about the decline of our country due to the immeasurable damage that the current administration has inflicted upon our nation. She wanted her obituary to include her adoration for President Trump whom she prayed and voted for. She knew how incredible our country was doing on every level when he was President and watched Newsmax many hours per day while confined to the house over the past year. 

In 1981 she married Edward ‘Ed’ Reed, Sr., to whom she was married for twenty-seven years. He was an outstanding husband, step-father and was adored by all. They had a very active life playing tennis at local athletic clubs and dozens of trophies adorned their shelves. They went to Falmouth, Cape Cod every year where she loved Old Silver Beach, stuffed quahogs and the ocean. 

In the 1980’s she got her real estate broker’s license and enjoyed having another role in the community. She never stopped nursing and worked at Mass General Hospital, Newton-Wellesley Hospital and towards her later career received her RNCS which qualified her to specialize in elder nursing care. She was a nursing supervisor at Elizabeth Seton in Wellesley for over a decade. She was most proud of being in the operating room when the first full reattachment of an arm was successfully done. It was a national story featured in major media publications. 

Widowed in 2008, his loss made an immeasurable void for our family. He was her greatest support throughout her cancer first diagnosed in 2004. After years of surgeries and treatments, she had almost a decade without being consumed by medical needs. Sadly, the cancer returned and in 2023 she decided against any further treatment which would have ruined any tolerable quality of life at eighty-five years old. Her wish was to stay at home and begin hospice. Her daughter and sole caretaker, Lauri and her nurse, Michele, promised that she would pass in her home which she did in the early hours of Wednesday, October 23, 2024. After much suffering in the last months, she is now at peace. Arlene leaves her daughter, Laura Jeanne ‘Lauri’ Pratt; her son, Bradford Edmands 'Brad' Pratt and his wife, Darleen; her granddaughter, Olivia Pratt, all of Waltham. 

Predeceased by her father, Romeo Poitras, her mother, Jeanne (Moreau) Poitras; brothers, Robert and Leonard Poitras; and husband, Edward W. Reed, Sr. and her former husband, Richard K. Pratt, Jr.

Family and friends will honor and remember Arlene's life on Wednesday, November 6th in Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted Church, 880 Trapelo Road, Waltham, where her Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Burial with military honors will follow in Mount Feake Cemetery, Waltham. There are no calling hours. 

In lieu of flowers, donations in her name may be made to Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted Parish, 920R Trapelo Road, Waltham, MA 02452 https://www.olca.org/