Claude Edward Reese was born on August 29, 1985 in Detroit, Michigan to the late Kathryn S. Reese and Claude Reese. Claude spent his formative years in Huntsville, Alabama where he excelled academi-cally, musically and artistically. Claude E., as he was lovingly referred to by his family, embarked upon every endeavor with passion and excellence. Whether earning 1st chair in the drum section of the band as a freshman at Huntsville High School or men-toring elementary age students on a volunteer basis, Claude E. was unselfish in sharing his knowledge and making others feel they could conquer the world. As a member of the band, Claude E. traveled to England and Ireland to perform. At the age of 16, Claude’s musical expertise and flourishing business acumen earned him a coveted in-ternship at notable J Records/RCA Music Group in New York City, a position reserved for adults 18 and over. His special personality and influence was noted by others and, as a result, he was selected as one of six high school seniors in the state of Alabama to attend the National Young Leaders Conference in Washington D.C. There, he received the Youth Leadership Award. In 2003, Claude graduated Huntsville High School and entered Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama. With a goal to achieve his undergraduate degree in four years, he set about strategically planning his college career, taking summer classes and maintain-ing an overall 3.2 GPA. He was a member of Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society, Phi Eta Sigma and the Na-tional Society of Collegiate Scholars. His most cherished membership however was that of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity where he was a brother among brothers, performed community service, and was most recently the Chapter Exchequer and Dean of Pledges. When Claude was not attending summer school, he was experiencing one-of-a-kind internship opportunities where his interior design work was featured on the Fine Living Network and Suede Magazine, Winter 2004. Claude continued to excel academically and he was honored by the Minority Depart-ment of Auburn for Scholastic Achievement. While a full-time student at Auburn, Claude was also employed full time as a Media Supervisor at Best Buy and was known to be checking on things at work during his “off” days. Claude loved with deep passion , acted with great courage and achieved with great con-fidence. He was also fun-loving, happy, silly and talented. Despite personal tragedy, he knew above all that God alone was the source of all his blessings. He listened with a fervent heart as he allowed family and friends to minister to him of God’s goodness.