Obituary--"Uncle Joe" Reed

In the same paper as the obituary posted last week for Manly Seymour, was another one for Joe Reed.  While both men died out of town, Mr. Reed's obituary is a bit smaller and less detailed.  Perhaps it is that his life was less in the public eye, or maybe or the fact that he was not a life-long resident.  But still, at least the details were recorded in the obituary. 

From the 26 January 1939 Fremont TimesIndicator.

"Uncle Joe" Reed, 92, Dies Tuesday At Muskegon
 Funeral services will be held at two o'clock this afternoon from the Crandel and Ensing funeral home for Joseph Reed, 92, early Brookside resident, who died Tuesday evening at his home in Muskegon after an illness of about a month.
Rev. Arthur E. Gay, pastor of the Fremont Congregational church will officiate at the services.  Burial will be made in the Holton cemetery.
"Uncle Joe" Reed, as he was more familiarly known to local residents, was born in Canada, April 15, 1846, and was a son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Reed.  He came to the United States in 1886, settling on a farm near Brookside.  His wife died shortly after her marriage to Mr. Reed many years ago.  He lived with Mr. and Mrs. A. I. Miller for 35 years, moving to Muskegon a year and a half ago.  He was a carpenter by trade.
He is survived only by his niece, Mrs. A. I. Miller.

Ok.  That explains his nickname of Uncle, since he lived for years with his niece.  This leaves me asking why he moved, at the probably age of 90, to Muskegon, unless he was in some sort of nursing home or hospital.   But, as with so many of these obituaries, they leave me asking for more than they tell me.