Deceased September 3, 1998
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In Memory
Eddie has left us. A familiar figure, frequently attending our class reunions, especially the fall mini-reunions. And many of us will recall him as the slim 150-pounder who quarterbacked our football team. Small, yes—but, as he pointed out, how big do you have to be to hand off the ball?
A Midwesterner, Ed was born and reared in Sandusky, OH, attending the schools there. When it came time to choose a college, he had a little help. Seven alumni of the Big A showed him the way, a route that he never regretted taking.
Ed joined the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, and, after an initial struggle with the books, caught fire and did well. In June of 1935, the College conferred on him the bachelor of arts degree—although he was not a bachelor at all; the previous June he had married a beautiful Smithie named Ellen Manning. They were to be together for sixty-four years!
Ed decided on a career in secondary school education. He got his certificate and did some teaching and coaching until Uncle Sam selected him for army duty. Post-war, after earning an M.A. at Columbia, he began teaching at Kearney High School in Kearney, NJ. He stayed there for thirty-four years, ending as the principal of this school for two thousand youngsters. In 1975, he retired.
The retirement years were interesting for Ellen and Ed. They did extensive traveling in Europe, and in our own country. One of the memorable experiences for Ed was watching a Super Bowl game in Pasadena's Rose Bowl.
More recently, Ed's health began to desert him; he had spent the last couple of years in a home in Fremont, OH. Ellen, never a robust person, joined him there, and is still at the home.
Farewell, Ed. We missed you, we thought, temporarily. Now we know it's permanent. You leave a vacuum in our hearts.
John D. Leinbach '35