Ed, 90, died September 16, 2008, in Ephrata, Washington. He was born on December 12, 1917, near Springfield, Missouri. He was a Mennonite and entered Civilian Public Service in 1942 and was among the first group of CPS men trained as smokejumpers. Ed jumped at Missoula 1943-44 and at McCall in 1945 and had 29 jumps according to his records.

After the war Ed changed professions and moved from farming into education and earned his Master's degree from Seattle Pacific University. He was fascinated by geology and led 38 hiking tours through the Grand Canyon. Ed was a student of the Bible and was involved in the Bible Science Association and the Ephrata First Baptist Church. He is buried at the Ephrata Cemetery.