Obituary of Reed Gwillim Law

Reed Gwillim Law Jr. (Gwil), beloved husband and father, died peacefully in his home on August 31, 2016 in Chapel Hill, NC at the age of 71. He was diagnosed with a brain tumor in early 2015. Gwil is survived by his wife, Janice Law; children Reed (Winnie) Law III, Evan Law, Blake (Sarah) Law and Shirley Law; his siblings Steven Law, Zachary Law, Zebulon Law, Bronwyn Merhige and Susan Smith; grandchildren Luke, Micah, Eliana, Jesse, Silas and soon to be born Talitha Law. He is preceded in death by his parents Reed Gwillim Law and by four days Jean Inglis Law; his Grandparents Harry Nathan Law, Bessie Gwillim Law, Justice Ernest Alexander Inglis and Agnes Thompson Inglis. Gwil was born on January 6, 1945 in Middletown, CT and grew up in Cortland, NY. He graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1966 with a degree in mathematics. He continued his education at Johns Hopkins University and earned a masters in mathematics in 1969. He then became a professor of mathematics at Franklin Pierce College where he met his future wife Janice Black. They settled in southern California and had their four children and enjoyed great friendships made at First Presbyterian Church in Monrovia, CA. The family moved back to the east coast and settled in Chapel Hill. Over the years Gwil maintained various employments in local computer technology companies—including SAS, CSX, and IBM—completing his final employment at Measurement Incorporated where he worked as a computational linguist, which was a job he very much enjoyed. Gwil published the reference book, "Administrative Subdivisions of Countries", in 1999 and has kept the book up-to-date on his webpage: www.statoids.com. From a young age, Gwil was dedicated to his faith in Jesus Christ. Gwil enjoyed singing in church choirs, Bible study fellowships and serving the church community. Gwil greatly served his family, always finding time to be with his wife and children. Gwil was an avid collector of books, stamps, comics, maps and had one of the largest collections of telephone books. Gwil's interest in geography led him to maintain one of the world's foremost databases of Administrative Subdivisions of Countries. Gwil was gifted with languages, having proficiency in six languages. His other many talents included songwriting, crossword puzzles—often completing the NY Times Sunday puzzle in under thirty minutes—, trivia, editing and vast memorization skills. A funeral is scheduled for 1 pm on Saturday, September 3, 2016 at the Church of the Good Shepherd with a reception to follow. The Rev. Christopher Garrett will officiate the ceremony. All are welcome to attend and celebrate Gwil's life. The family would like to thank Duke Hospital and Duke Hospice for their excellent care. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Durham Rescue Mission. Walker's Funeral Home of Chapel Hill is serving the Law family.