Ed, or Casper, was a very strong- willed man who dedicated his life to keeping his family together upon the death of his second wife, Mildred Faye "Jackie". He was a wonderful and loving husband, father and grandfather.

He leaves behind his wife of seventeen years, Arlene, 4 daughters, 1 son, 4 step-sons and 2 step-daughters, 5 grandchildren, 8 step-grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren and 9 step-great-grandchildren.

Although he only had an 8^th grade education, he was a very brilliant man. He was "a jack of all trades". He knew carpentry, electronics, auto mechanics, mathematics, and was well versed in the area of law (even though he was not a lawyer or police officer).

He loved camping, traveling, gardening, baking, history and telling stories of growing up in the age of moonshine and farming. He passed his love of these hobbies on to his children. One of his favorite passions was the Cleveland Indians and baseball in general. He felt it was the only true American sport. Another hobby he had was being a citizen band radio enthusiast. One of his CB nicknames was the Three Legged Kangaroo!

His legacy is not only seen in his children and grandchildren but also through his involvement in AA. He was not embarrassed by his membership in this organization but in fact was proud of his accomplishments in mentoring others to stop drinking and lead full and productive lives.

His favorite verse was the Serenity Prayer. His listened to country and bluegrass music. His favorite musical artists were Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs and Johnny Cash. He, himself, could play the juice harp and spoons like a true Southern gentleman of his time.

He converted to Catholicism in 1992 and attended mass at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Akron till he could no longer get there. He enjoyed having the priests visit him at home, in the hospital and at the nursing home. 

Although he only served a short time in the United States Navy during World War II, he told great stories of being a cook. 

He loved anything Tennessian – the land and rivers, the people and even the University of Tennessee. This was because that’s where his heart really was – in his beloved state.

He loved to joke and make faces. One of his signature gestures was sticking his tongue out at his children. It was sort of our way of saying "I love you, you silly goose". He was a bit of a "stinker", too. He would do things like feed his children’s pets people food when they weren’t looking. He even caught a groundhog once to keep as a pet but it got a little ticked off and bit his thumb.

His health started to fail in 2004 and progressively got worse.  In May of 2005, he told us he was tired of the nursing homes and hospitals and he just wanted to go home.  As he requested, we took him home and he spent his last days surrounded by his family joking, kissing and hugging him as much as possible. 

He is deeply missed and every day there is something that reminds us of him and how he made our lives brighter.