Harold (Ed) Ice's family is sad to announce that he passed away on Oct 21st 2024. He was born in Elkins, West Virginia in 1940 and died as a resident of Anna Maria, Florida. He was a veteran: Captain of the United States Army and has traveled the world as a soldier, an engineer and as a tourist throughout his lifetime. He graduated from West Virginia University with an engineering degree in 1964. He retired to Anna Maria after a long and distinguished career as an engineer for the Army and as a defense contractor. He then went on to own and operate several businesses and to volunteer for various organizations for over 25 years. Anna Maria was his home. He wrote his own obituary many years ago and it is included below. It is but a partial accounting of a well lived life. After he wrote this he was involved and loved many other organizations like the Loyal Order of the Moose 2188 where he served as an officer for many years.
The Moose will be holding a memorial in the future after the extensive hurricane damage from Helene and Milton has been repaired. In Lieu of flowers please donate to the charity of your choice but consider the following charities that are important to our family.
Loyal Order of the Moose 2188
Hillsdale College
Celebrate!!!
by Ed Ice
Don't mourn the death of the body
Celebrate the life that was
Remember the joy of the living
Through children, through the underwater world
Through the mountains
Remember that this man saw many things not seen by others
Sunsets in the South China Sea and Tobago
Sunrises in Washington DC and Florida
Festivals in Singapore
Student riots in Seoul
Fairs in Switzerland, Texas, and California in the same month
Wine and beer in Germany
Rebels in Ethiopia
Snow in Italy
Russians staring across the border
Staring at the Suez canal from the Mitla Pass
Koreans/Japanese/Chinese/Malays/Indonesians/Thais
Visiting every continent except Antarctica (didn't miss it at all).
Walking the Appalachian Trail with my Dad
Hunting and fishing with Pop, Carl Ray, Granpas Ice and Kelley, Uncle Artie
Motorcycles with Vic and Dianne
Remember the joy of knowing grandchildren and great grand children
And helping Kelley learn to read and write and cipher.
Learning about Black Friday from my girls.
Remember the sadness of not knowing enough about the first three kiddos
Being gone a lot by choice to preserve sanity
But trying to make it up as they grew older with limited success
Remember the learning to like himself at a late age
And then being able to like others better.
Remember successes at work
RJ, what became CB, Blue/Green,
Leader Store, Dragonfly
And the friends made and lost in the process
Remember the joy of scuba
And the friendships gained
The Hoovers, Amy and Gary, Henderson (the cause of it all)
Chris, Ross, John. T-Rex, Russell, HBPD, Steve Stewart
Pete and Lorraine
If I missed any, blame it on old age!
Shrimp by the lake
Jemma's tree house
Ricardo and company
Cold water and warm water
Holmes Beach cops and their warmth and professionalism
Bonaire with Ross and Chris
Sharks circling in Provo
Wrecks in Truk
Down low at the Blue Corner in Palau
Corals in Fiji
The boat that wouldn't go home in Tortolla
Remember Scarborough Faire
Rennaissance fairs in Florida
Camping
Canoes on the lake
Kayaks in the ocean
(Andrew tipping Sonny)
Swimming pools in the yard and at hotels
Rides at the fairs
Surfing the net
Tears over movies
Fresh bread and popcorn
Chaperoning for Lee and Southeast bands
Cooking a gazillion hamburgers and hot dogs.
Grouper burgers
The battle to become a boat Captain
And how to not catch fish
Poker runs through the countryside
Scooting with Kyle
Taking Junior to Linger Lodge
And to eat oysters.
Running on the temporary island
With Capn Jack, Annie, and Junior.
Catching ladybugs with Pam
Watching Kelley walk across the stage from high school.
And UCF. A Wonder this old heart didn't burst right there.
Remember the fight to regain strength after surgery
Remember the joy of at last loving a woman
Who loved back. Thanks, Missy Di.
Life is to be celebrated
Enjoyed
Remembered
Death is just another part of life
And must occur
Hopefully quickly and reasonably painless
With brain intact and body going
Children
Don't cry
Get out and live!!
Celebrate my life
By being what you want to be
My life wasn't great
to anyone but me
I did what I could
Most of the time
Didn't do what I should
some of the time
But it was mine
The pain, the sorrow
The loves lost
The loves won
The pride in my Mom and Dad
The joy of Dianne, Carrie, Meredith, Kelley, Timothy, Micki
Amber, Meghan, Chase, Kyle, Carolanne, Blayne, Nicholae, Thomas, Gracey, Kylee, Grant, Liam, Liela, Legend, Aiden, James, and Bellamy.
The sadness of great grandbabies that I never got to hold. And the joy to the ones I did.
Celebrate!!!
Celebrate!!!
I lived for a while
Now it's your turn
