* Nell Quinlan Reed; Pioneer in Women’s Wear

Nell Quinlan Reed, 102, a pioneer in the manufacture of women’s clothing. She started her career making ruffled clothing for herself to escape frumpy, pre-World War I housedresses. She went on to sew dresses for her friends and eventually for Kansas City’s George B. Peck Dry Goods Co. By 1919, she was running the Donnelly Garment Co., a leader in the women’s ready-to-wear clothing industry in the 1920s. By 1931, she headed a $3.5-million business with 1,000 employees. Sixteen years later, it was the largest company of its kind in the world. Mrs. Reed left the company in 1956. It changed its name to Nelly Don Inc. and eventually filed for bankruptcy. On Sunday in Kansas City, Mo.