Title: Army Private, Vietnam; insurance agent
Birthdate: March 27, 1948
Death Date: March 21, 2000
Plot Location: Section 101, Lot 205, Grave 4 from South Line
Reginald’s parents married in 1947 in West Philadelphia and he was the first of their three children. A brother was born in 1953 and a sister in 1960. The parents appear to have divorced sometime later.
His mother, Blanche, was a food service worker until 1963 when she fell and was disabled. Quoted 
in her obituary, Reginald said she sometimes worked seven days a week to support the family.
Partly to help his family, he made the decision to leave high school before his senior year to get an Army paycheck. It was a decision he rectified after his tour in Vietnam. He served from July 1965 through July 1968, suffering a disabling lower back injury as a result. Among his first objectives was to finish his high school diploma, then continue his education.
Reginald studied marketing and finance through the dual admissions program at Community College of Philadelphia and Temple University. From there he passed the exam to become a licensed insurance agent. For the next 20 years, selling insurance was his day job. During his off-hours he loved photography and dabbled with the idea of opening his own photography studio.
As his interest in insurance waned, his interest in market research grew. Throughout the 1990s he worked for Mathematical Policy Research Inc. in Washington, D.C. At the same time he was employed by the U.S. Census Bureau, helping to create surveys and research projects that focused on West Philadelphia. He also kept fit with daily workouts at the YMCA at 52nd and Chester Avenue.
His mother’s obituary from 1992 gives more insight into Reginald’s personal life. She lived with his 
sister in her last years but he lived nearby and was her chauffeur and confidant. As the only child that never married, they enjoyed spending a lot of time together, especially because they both loved to travel. They would take family and friends to Wildwood and Atlantic City and the two of them enjoyed Las Vegas and cruise ships on more than one occasion.
Reginald had to resign from work due to an undisclosed illness that took his life a few weeks later at age 51.
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