Edmund Frederic Truter

Ed Truter peacefully passed away at 94 and a half years young on July 21, in his home in Matthews, NC. His wife, Kitti, and daughters, Kathryn and Carolyn, were by his side. He was a remarkable man who loved so many, and in return was loved by so many. Ed was a mentor to generations of young men, a role model of a wonderful father and husband.

He was born in Pittsburgh, PA, on February 24, 1928, to Clara Pauline Hesse Truter and Edmund Frederic Truter, M.D. Ed graduated from Mercersburg Academy then the University of Pittsburgh, with B.S. and Masters degrees. He served in the U.S. Army (43rd Division) during the Korean War. Early in his career in Beaver County, PA, he taught physical education and coached high school basketball. He then became the principal of several elementary schools (Patterson, West Mayfield, and Chippewa), the supervisor of Blackhawk School District elementary education, rose to assistant superintendent and was the Blackhawk Board of Education’s chief negotiator with the teacher’s unions. He retired from his illustrious career in 1986.

Ed was a competitive swimmer from the time he was young and reached the Master’s U.S. Nationals at 61 years old, a love he instilled in his daughters; he coached their swim teams, got them up and to practice before school, and drove them to meets around the eastern U.S.

Ed and his first wife, Dolly, moved from Beaver Falls, PA, to Sherwood Forest, MD, in 1986. Ed’s family had had a summer cottage in Sherwood since 1926, where he attended camp, learned to love swimming and sailing, and made many lifelong friends. As a resident, he was chair of the Boating/Waterfront Committee, served on the Board of Directors, and started the Parents Committee with Dolly. He loved cruising the Chesapeake Bay in his sailboat and participating in regattas.

At the age of 55, he became an avid scuba diver, diving in the Caribbean, Red Sea, off the Galapagos Islands, on oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico and wrecks off the coast of North Carolina. He volunteered as an amateur oceanographer studying coral spawning, conducted shark tagging, and was a docent and diver/shark feeder at the National Aquarium in Baltimore for 25 years before “retiring” at age 85.

Ed was a serious sports fan; in particular, his beloved Pittsburgh Pirates and Steelers, and the Georgetown University Hoya basketball team.

Ed was a man of strong faith, and most recently was a member of Sardis Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, NC. He was active in all of his church communities in Beaver Falls, Annapolis, and at Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church in Severna Park, MD. He was an elder, chaired stewardship committees, delivered Meals on Wheels, and provided transportation for the homeless to shelters.

He is predeceased by his parents; sisters, Mary Rose Truter and Janet Truter Robison; and first wife, Genevieve “Dolly” Gates Truter.

He is survived by his daughters, Kathryn Truter VonRueden of Sherwood Forest, and Carolyn Truter Johnson (Pat) of Easton, MD; granddaughter, Genevieve Lee Johnson, DVM, of Annapolis, MD; and his wife of 26 years, Katherine “Kitti” of Matthews, NC, and her children and grandchildren, whom he loved like his own.

A memorial service will be held at 2p.m. on August 9 at Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church, Severna Park.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Severn River Association or the National Aquarium in Baltimore.