Edward E Northcutt

Edward (Ed) Northcutt, 88, died March 16 at the Big Bend Hospice in Tallahassee, FL. A memorial service will be held at Saint John's Episcopal Church, 211 North Monroe St. on Saturday, March 24 at 4 pm.

Ed was born on January 15, 1924 in Anson County, NC. He attended public schools there until being drafted into the army during World War II, where he served in the South Pacific. After being discharged, he attended NC State and graduated from Wingate College in 1948.In March 1949, Ed joined Eastern Airlines at the Dale Mabry Airport (now Tallahassee Regional), and served Eastern for 36 years. He started as a ticket agent at the airport, but soon moved into sales. He then lobbied the Florida Legislature on behalf of the airline industry for 20 years. While originally in Tallahassee, he served as president of the Tallahassee Jaycees and Tallahassee Kiwanis, and was a charter member and second president of the Hush Puppy Chapter of Florida Public Relations Association .On his first day in Tallahassee, he met Eastern Airlines employee Martha Beard, and they were married on September 17, 1949. They enjoyed 62 great years together until Martha’s death on March 4th, 2011. In addition to representing Eastern in Tallahassee, he served as regional manager in Central Florida during the early development of the space industry at the Cape. They lived in Orlando for 3 years, but moved back to Tallahassee in 1963. In 1970, he moved to Miami as the Director of Civic Affairs for Florida and the many islands that Eastern served at that time. In Miami he served as president of the 2000 member Management Council, chaired the US Savings Bonds drive for Dade County, and chaired the Miami Chamber of Commerce Human Resources Committee and 12 sub committees. In 1973 he was chosen to manage the Eastern operation at Walt Disney World, where he stayed until retirement in 1985. He traveled all over the world with Mickey and Minnie doing joint promotions with the Disney marketing department, and he was the first president of the Participants Association at Disney .Ed and Martha moved back to Tallahassee in 1993, and he volunteered somewhere almost every day. He especially enjoyed his volunteer work at Pebble Hill Plantation, the Old Capitol museum, Meals-on-Wheels, and the Knott House. Because of his extensive volunteer work, Ed was chosen the Everyday Hero by the Tallahassee Memorial Hospital Foundation in 2002, and was named best community volunteer by Tallahassee Magazine .Ed was also an avid gardener. He had a collection of over 3000 orchids while living in Central Florida, but switched back to camellias upon moving back to Tallahassee. He frequently won awards for his blooms at the annual Tallahassee Camellia & Garden Club show .Ed was a longtime Episcopalian, and a member of Saint John’s Episcopal Church and the Burleigh Law Sunday School class at Saint Paul's United Methodist Church. He loved his church families and was eager to volunteer his time at Saint John’s whenever necessary .He is survived by three sons: Mark (Deborah) of Tallahassee, Bert (Diana) of Covington, GA, and Bill (Laura) of Gainesville, FL; 7 grandchildren; and 5 great-grandchildren. He was very devoted to his family, and loved spending time with his grandkids and great-grandkids .In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Meals-on-Wheels (Elder Care Services), 2518 West Tennessee St., Tallahassee, FL 32304 or Big Bend Hospice, 1723 Mahan Center Blvd., Tallahassee, FL 32308.