Congratulations to our own Brother Joe Reed, FSC, who recently celebrated 40 years as a Christian Brother. 

Brother Joe, who is part of the De La Salle Collegiate Academic Support team, is originally from the Lansing area. He attended DeWitt High School, and earned a scholarship to Michigan Technological University. One of his housemates was Dan Mason, DLS Class of 1978, who was part of the Christian Brothers’ contact program. A few times each year, a Christian Brother would visit Dan, who had expressed some interest in becoming a Brother.

Brother Joe said, “At that point, I had never even heard of the Brothers nor did I know anything about them.”

But, he liked what he heard, and the “rest is history.” 

Following his college graduation in 1983, Brother Joe “went into residence,” and began teaching at St. Joe’s Buffalo (in New York). After two years, he entered the Brothers’ novitiate at Skaneateles, in the Finger Lakes region of central New York. He stayed in New York, and was a teacher at St. Raymond’s, a Christian Brothers-staffed school in the Bronx. 

His first assignment at De La Salle lasted from 1991-2002. Then, it was back to Albany, then Syracuse, and back to Buffalo - all Christian Brothers’ schools in DENA (District of Eastern North America). 

In 2019, Brother Joe returned to Warren, and De La Salle. 

Brother Joe co-teaches Math and Literacy to freshmen identified as needing additional help. 

“These classes don’t replace their freshmen courses,” he said. “Their foreign language classes get delayed until sophomore year so they can improve on their basics. They may also lose a gym class or an art elective.”

In addition to those specialized classes, Brother Joe is also available to tutor students who may need assistance in other classes. He works closely with Mike Szatkowski ‘73, who heads the Academic Support team.

Brother Joe is a regular attendee at all kinds of school events. In addition to athletic events, you might see him at a music concert, a DECA conference, or a robotics competition.

“I try to be there for the kids,” Brother Joe said. “I think it’s important for them to know that someone besides their parents cares about what they are doing.” 

His father passed away several years ago, but his mother, now 94, is still alive. Two of his siblings live out of state, but the rest are within Michigan. 

“I am the sixth of eight children,” Brother Joe said. “Growing up, I was the primary babysitter for my older siblings’ children. I liked doing it. I thought I would eventually marry and have kids of my own. 

“But, God was probably laughing at my plans. The saying is, ‘We make plans, and God laughs.’ So, I don’t have biological children, but I have helped raise thousands of other people’s kids.” 

When he’s not involved with school, Brother Joe enjoys bicycling and reading.