Reeder was born on July 26, 1916, in
Flagstaff, Arizona. She was the daughter of accomplished botanist
Leslie Newton Goodding. Picking up from her father, she began to help him identify species in Arizona. She attended the
University of Wyoming, earning her
M.A. in 1939 for her thesis on
Muhlenbergia. She then took classes at
Oregon State University where she met
John R. Reeder. The two married in 1941. With her husband conscripted in the military during
World War II, Reeder went to work at the
Smithsonian Institution under
Agnes Chase. Upon John's return from the war, he took a post at
Yale University and the couple moved to
Connecticut. Reeder continued her studies on
Muhlenbergia, titling herself "Rogue Botanist". The Reeders moved to Wyoming in 1968, where they collaborated on work at the Rocky Mountain Herbarium of the University of Wyoming. In 1976, they moved to
Tucson, Arizona, to research at the
University of Arizona Herbarium. After a severe car accident, the two decided to retire. ==Legacy==