Joy Lucius
AFA Journal staff writer
Above, Kim Reed, left, and Kim’s father, Gene Timmons, right
June 2021 – Strong is a word that aptly describes Kim Reed.
As a 23-year employee of American Family Association, Reed has demonstrated that strength repeatedly through her work ethic and professionalism.
Following in her mother Nell Timmons’ footsteps, Reed started working for AFA in April 1998 as an executive secretary to the AFA Foundation director. Coming from the corporate world of banking, Reed naturally brought those same standards of dress and deportment with her to the AFA Foundation office, including business suits and heels.
Casual wear and casual effort were not part of Reed’s work vocabulary. But in 2000, she transferred to the engineering department of American Family Radio, and the dress code changed.
Reed reminisced about those years in engineering. “I was the only lady working with 14 engineers, doing mostly purchasing and shipping. It was like working with a bunch of my brothers.”
Versatile and valuable
Reed worked with those AFA brothers until 2007, when she moved to the accounting department. Still there 14 years later, her responsibilities include purchases, payables, and tax matters.
“I totally love my job,” Reed said. “I couldn’t ask for a more wonderful group of people to work with. They love me and think of me as a sister, sometimes even crying with me. We’re just one big family.”
For Reed, that is the ultimate compliment because, as a mother and grandmother, family is the motivation behind her hard work.
“Of course, my two sons and my grandkids are the best in the world,” she exclaimed. “Bryan and his wife Mandy have blessed me with three grandsons, Greyson, Griffin, and Grant. In July, Brent and Lakin are blessing me with another grandson.”
Reed is excited to welcome this new addition, especially after the suffering and loss her family has experienced in recent years.
In August 2019 Reed’s father, Gene Timmons, was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. Nell, his faithful wife of 60 years, could not care for him alone. Without hesitation, Reed stepped up to care for her parents while continuing to work full-time at AFA.
“My parents were always a stronghold in my life,” said Reed. “They saw my boys and me through so much. So the day we found out about Daddy’s cancer was the day our family stopped in our tracks.”
Reed’s family quickly learned to stop regular routines, take a seat, talk more deeply, and really love on each other.
“As his only daughter,” explained Reed, “it was heartbreaking to see my daddy, my knight in shining armor, suffer through chemo, radiation, and the awful side effects.”
Faith and fishin’
“This was my fishing partner, my partner in crime, the man who never said ‘I love you’ until his deathbed. Yet, his love for God, family, and friends had radiated like the sun my entire life.”
So when Reed’s father died on February 10, it took more than her own strength to say goodbye. But at that moment, she sensed God’s strength made perfect in her weakness.
“God slipped in and took Daddy home,” Reed whispered. “No more pain. No more worry, just a peaceful release from this world into the loving arms of his Savior.”
Wiping away tears, Reed said the hardest moment in her life became the most beautiful as her favorite Bible verse, John 3:16, played out right before her eyes.
She laughed softly, “I could hear Daddy saying, ‘Hey, ol’ Peter, are the fish bitin’? Let me show you how to tie that hook on.’” 
Listen to American Family Radio (afr.net) each Saturday at 7 a.m. or Sunday at 10 p.m. to learn more about caring for loved ones from Peter Rosenberger on Hope for the Caregiver.
