Carol Sue Reader — whose life took her from a dairy farm in Howell Township to a judge’s bench in Livingston County’s 53rd District Court — is being remembered for her commitment to serving others.
The lifelong Livingston County resident, 77, died Thursday at St. Joseph Mercy Livingston Hospital in Ann Arbor after suffering a stroke.
One of the founders of LACASA in 1981, Reader was an advocate for victims of domestic violence and child abuse. She was a past president of LACASA’s board, on which she served as a member until 1993. She also helped co-found the Livingston County Scan Team, which reviewed cases of child abuse and neglect in order to recommend specific services to help victims.
She was also a past member and past president of the Child Abuse and Neglect Network. A member of the Prosecutors’ Investigator’s Organization of Michigan, she was a co-founder of its interdisciplinary team dealing with child abuse and neglect cases.
“I worked with Carol Sue for over 30 years in her work at the Prosecutors Office and while she was a judge,” said former Livingston County Prosecutor David Morse. “She always dedicated her time to helping others, be it with LACASA, Veterans Court or in elected office.”
Former District Court Judge John Pikkarainen said Reader’s work in establishing the Livingston County Veterans Treatment Court was “wonderful.” Reader was Pikkarainen’s first law clerk when he took the bench in 1989; she went on to win election to replace him on the bench when he retired in 2006.
“Carol Sue was an intelligent, sharp lady,” Pikkarainen said. “The most impressive thing she did was starting the Veterans Court.”
The colorful Reader — known for her great sense of humor, as well as riding her Goldwing three-wheel motorcycle — was a beauty queen in her younger years: she was first runner-up in the Howell Melon Festival Queen competition in 1965, and was crowned Miss Livingston County 1966, going on to compete in the Miss Michigan State Fair Beauty Queen competition later that year (the newspaper story about that competition listed “believe it or not — weight lifting” as one of her interests).
Reader graduated from Washtenaw Community College, Michigan State University, and Thomas M. Cooley Law School. She also studied at the University of Michigan for two years.
Her legal career began as a secretary in the Livingston County Prosecutors Office; she became a paralegal investigator and office manager when she wrote the grant that established a victim witness program in the late 1970s. While there, she also dealt with survivors of domestic violence and child abuse.
“She was interested in law and wanted some experience, so we had her do some things,” said former Livingston County Prosecutor Thomas Kizer, Jr. “After she went to law school, she came back to work for a while.”
Though he never appeared before her, Kizer said she was a compassionate judge.
“She was a credit to the bench and her profession,” Kizer said.
Before becoming a judge, Reader practiced law, specializing in family and criminal law and probate matters, and she also did work as a public defender.
As a judge, Reader founded Livingston County’s Intensive Treatment Court, which engages defendants with mental illness, and the Veteran’s Treatment Court, which is a special court for veterans.
Reader served on the Howell Township Zoning Board of Appeals, and the Habitat for Humanity board; she participated in the Brighton High School mentorship program; and she served as a legal consultant at the Women’s Resource Center (which went on to become absorbed into LACASA). She was also a member of the National Alliance of Mentally Ill, the Livingston Interdisciplinary Professional Association, Second Chance Support Network, and the Goldwing Riders Association. She also did motivational speaking.
After retiring from the bench, Reader was a visiting judge and mediator; she also served a term on the Livingston County Board of Commissioners.
Reader was married to retired Michigan State Police Detective Sgt. J. Michael Lenahan for over 40 years.
A celebration of life is set for 2-6 p.m. Saturday, March 9, at Watkins Brothers Funeral Homes, MacDonald Chapel, 315 N. Michigan Ave., Howell.
