Edward Bair

Edward Bair peacefully went home to the Lord surrounded by his family on December 29th,

2025, at the age of 89. Born on January 7th, 1936 in Long Beach, California. His parents were

Homer Bair and Jean Thomson. Ed grew up in Long Beach and graduated from Poly High

School. He joined the Navy in November 1955 and completed basic training in San Diego. Ed

served with the Beachmaster Unit at Coronado Naval Base in California. He actively served until

1957 and was a reserve until 1961. He was extremely proud of serving in the military.

After a short time as a firefighter for the City of Costa Mesa, Ed worked as a machinist for U.S.

Electrical Motors where he met his future brother-in-law, Albert Hedges. Ed was introduced to

the love of his life, JoAnn Hedges, in 1958 and they were married on May 2, 1959. In March

1960, the first of their three sons, Steve, was born, followed by Ron in 1962 and Eddie in 1967.

Ed and JoAnn purchased their first home in Fullerton in 1963. They enjoyed taking their boys on

weekend camping adventures and summer vacations in a cab-over-camper. They enjoyed fishing,

hunting, boating, and off-road motorcycles. Ed spent the rest of his career as a machinist at

Morehouse Industries, and retired in 1998 from Tamarack Scientific Corp in Anaheim.

After retirement, Ed and JoAnn purchased their dream home in Apple Valley. They loved having

their family come up for swimming and bbq’s. They also made life-long friends there and

explored the high desert with their orange jeep fondly nicknamed “the Pumpkin”. Ed spent time

in his garage as a model boat builder, building many of the RC boats from scratch. He took great

pride and joy in building his model boats. His two favorites were his model of the boat from the

1951 film, “The African Queen” and his model of the Balboa Ferry. Ed and JoAnn were

members of the Maritime Modelers and Inland National Society.

In 2017, they moved to Santa Rosa, CA to be close to their son, Steve and wife, Margaret and

family. During the next six years, they attended The Cove Fellowship Church where they made

many friends and Ed accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. In 2023, Ed and JoAnn

moved to Middleton, Idaho to be close to family. He absolutely loved living in Idaho, sharing

their small home with their beloved dog, Maddie and attending large family gatherings. Although

Ed was legally blind and confined to a wheelchair in his later years, he never complained. Ed’s

greatest joy was sharing his life with JoAnn, their family and many wonderful friends! He would

have celebrated his 90th birthday in January and his 34 years of sobriety in February! He was

incredibly proud of his sobriety and helped many others suffering from the disease of alcoholism.

Ed is survived by his loving wife, JoAnn of 66 years, his three sons, Steve (Margaret), Ron

(Kathy), and Eddie (Tracy), nine grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren as well as many

other extended family members and friends who lovingly call him Popper.

A graveside ceremony and reception will be held on Friday, March 27th, 2026 at 1:00pm at

Sunset Hills Mortuary and Memorial Park, 24000 Waalew Rd, Apple Valley, CA. Reception will

follow from 1:30-4:30pm.