For many years I kidded Ed that he would be late for his own funeral. Unfortunately, this time, he was early, much too early.
If a man can be measured by what he leaves behind, Ed was very rich. His three children proved that again over the last few weeks by how they all rallied to support him and Renate in his last illness. They all seemed to be there 24/7, and Ed knew it. Renate, of course, holds the Guinness Record for care-giving and Ed for receiving. In time we will be one or the other and I don't know which is more difficult, but I do know that none of us will ever approach Renate's record of endurance nor the quality or the quantity of the care she gave.
His legacy includes grand children, one of whom is an excellent fisherman. He once visited my home with his grandparents and his fishing rod. We set him up on the dock in front of the house and he quietly fished all day, only to be interrupted to give us the current tally. He had reached 22 at cocktail time and we watched him from the deck above.
Suddenly he yelled for help. "Help, I need a grownup down here!" I looked and saw that he had probably hooked the dock and told him to wiggle it until the line came free. "I need a grownup down here" he repeated. Finally Ed and I went down to help him. I took one look and ran for the net. He had hooked a whale. To this day, no one, hot even the pros who come by my dock, have come close to the size of that fish, who incidentally was dropped on his head several times before we threw him back. Not a bad day for a young boy and a wonderful day for a grandfather.
Perhaps his most significant legacy is shown by the people in this room who came from many different groups of friends, who know each other and all because they knew Ed. Ed made friends and kept them. I'm glad I was one of them.
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Last Updated: July 19, 2007