Claiming descent from Anne Bradstreet, Jeanne Funkhouser Reeder says that writing is in her blood. Reeder grew up in Dayton, Ohio where her father was Ovrille Wright's personal lawyer and she says she can remember him telling the story of their first flight. She attended Earlham College and received her M.A. in English Language and Literature from the University of Michigan. She worked for a time as a legal secretary in her father's law office, then taught school at both the elementary and secondary levels before teaching English at Henry Ford College. She has contributed writings to The Dayton Daily News, The Detroit News Sunday Magazine,and the Wall Street Journal, among others.