Edward Lumley Ash, Jr. - February 1914 - April 2010 lived in Snellville, GA for the past twelve years with his daughter, Patricia Port. Ed - as he liked to be called - passed away peacefully on April 26, at Peachtree Christian Hospice. He was born and raised in Union, NJ and graduated from Union High in 1933. He played the saxophone in the high school band. He was one of two children born to the late Edward and Mary Ash. To his late sister, May Ash Ong, and her family - Wayne Woerdich, Arlene Davis and Robert Woerdich - he will be remembered as Buddy or Uncle Ed. He was the beloved husband of the late Elizabeth (Betty) Marie Ash for over 55 years. Ed and Betty left New Jersey and moved with their family to Sunland, California in the late 1940's and opened a grocery store. Members of Betty's family - the Beamer's and the Conrad's - also moved to Sunland, CA and they called their spread the ABC Ranch. Ed later worked for Technicolor, Richardson Camera, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Raytheon, and had his own business, E & E Machine Company in Burbank, CA. He was a Tool & Die Marker. Even after retiring, he returned to work at 77 for Bruno's in Huntsville, AL and worked until he was 84. His legacy lives on in his daughter, Patricia, his beloved grandchildren, Kimberly Ann Barnett and David Edward Port, and his treasured great grandchildren, Daniel Connery Smith, Richard Alexander Smith and Caitlin Rose Smith. His bookshelves were full of cards they had sent and he had framed pictures of their special drawings they made for him. He loved to be called Great Granddad. And to his many nieces and nephews he was Uncle Eddie. Ed was very proud of being a Masonic and lived his life accordingly. He became a member at the Cahuenga Lodge No. 513 in Hollywood, CA in 1949 and was active in the Ventura Poinsettia Ojai Lodge No. 214 which later became the Channel Islands Lodge No. 214 in Ventura/Oxnard, CA. He was a Master of the Royal Secret 32 Degree, Scottish Rite in Santa Barbara, CA and a Noble in the Al Malaikah Temple in Los Angeles. He was a Shrine member since 1976. When he lived in California, he loved to work in the yard and always had a vegetable garden. And when living in Ventura, he spent as much time as he could at the Ventura Marina and went deep sea fishing off the Channel Islands every time he could. He also liked to take trips where he could drive. He got that wanderlust from his grandfather, Peter Ernst, who started taking him on trips when he young and he loved to drive. He also loved bi-planes or any kind of plane and could spend hours looking at road maps and National Geographic magazines. Ed had friends from all over the country and it would be hard to mention them all. Some of his best times were with Melissa Biegler, Gool Dutia and Susan Vinson at Bruno's in Huntsville, AL. And special people who became part of our family - like Shirley and Paul Hartl - who were part of Ed's life in Snellville, GA. He would want to include mention of his late best friends George Dieterle of NJ and Morrie Richards of Ventura, CA. He would have wanted to say thank you to Home Instead in Snellville for sending him such wonderful care givers for the last 9 years. And, that he was blessed with several beautiful, younger women who visited and looked after him and how he lived each day in anticipation of their visits. How does one best remember a man who was a husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, uncle, brother and friend who lived among us for 96 years? The answer would be simple for him because we are all part of the many stories he would tell each of us over and over again on his "road trip" through life. He was a real storyteller. An informal memorial service will held for family and friends at T. W. Briscoe Park's Sager Pavilion on Saturday, May 15th from 1 pm - 3 pm.
Published in Gwinnett Daily Post on April 30, 2010