Dolores Hansen prepared this biography of Ed.  “Ed was born and raised in New Jersey to Danish immigrant parents.   He chose the Air Force after Academy graduation; he served in Texas, Wyoming, Korea, Japan, and Andrews AFB in Maryland supporting the Special Air Missions unit (Air Force I, etc.).  Following tours in France and Germany, he earned an MS in Systems Management at AFIT in 1970 and stayed at Wright-Patterson AFB with the F-15 Eagle Special Projects Office from paper to flight, overseeing contract changes.  After a final assignment to Utah, in 1975 Ed shed uniform and crew cut for civvies and eventually a mustache and beard. 

After two years as director of maintenance and engineering at a large hospital in Salt Lake City, he returned to school for an MS in secondary education.  After trying to teach writing skills to eighth graders for a year and not enjoying it, Ed began the next phase of his life -- writing the great American novel.  Ed was a charter member of our local Rotary club, served a year as president, and in 1988 led a five-week exchange trip to northern Scotland with five young men.

Ed was in his element as super-grandfather.  Here was a built-in audience for his stories.  We realized what a softy he’d become when he allowed a young grandson to take some early steps on his prized pool table.   Ed died February 24, 1991, of a massive cerebral hemorrhage to the brainstem -- still in his ski bibs and not long after finishing his novel, Temple of Kokopelli.”