Edward J. Stacy

At the time of his passing Ed was 2 weeks away from his 103rd. birthday.

Ed was born in 1916 in Camas, Washington to Frank Henry Stacy and Lena Aleta Dole. Ed had 5 siblings: Charlie, Della, Dora, Dot and Anne ( all deceased). He was a toddler when his family crossed the country from west to east in a covered wagon. They settled in New Jersey.

As a teenager in New Jersey he joined the Civilian Conservation Core. He was very proud of his involvement with this community minded organization. It gave everyone involved a felling of doing good things for their community.

As an adult he worked at various manufacturing jobs until he joined the Army in 1941 where he proudly fought for his country in World War II. He was sent to Macon Island and Saipan in the South Pacific with the 165th. Infantry. He earned the title of sharpshooter, received the Combat Infantry Badge, 2 Bronze Stars, Good Conduct Medal, Asian-Pacific Campaign Medal and Distinguished Service Medal. He was discharged from the Army in 1945, moved back to New Jersey and continued work in the manufacturing industry.

A couple of years down the road he married his first wife, Mary. They had a baby girl, Maria. He helped Mary take care of their baby daughter, as she was not well enough to do it all herself. Sadly Mary passed away in 1953 when their daughter was 3 years old.

A couple of years later he married his second wife Rita. They had no children together. Rita passed away from cancer in 1966. Around 1968 he married Lil, who had 6 children of her own. He became a step dad to LeeLain, Teddy, Jeffrey, Craig, Earl and Lance. They had a great life together until Lil passed away in 2005.

He lived on his own until 2012 when he decided he wanted to go live in Florida with his daughter. He lived out the rest of his life enjoying the Florida sunshine. He was on the go all the time, with his daughter taking him to all of the many activities they were involved in. Ed joined the Knights of Columbus at Espiritu Santo Catholic Church in Safety Harbor. By November of 2014 he had reached his 4th. degree in the Knights( the highest level). At that time he was 98.

Ed had the wonderful experience of going on the Honor Flight in October of 2013 with his daughter Maria as his guardian ( every Veteran had to travel with a guardian). He joined the 55+ club at the church and went on various outings and luncheons with his daughter. He enjoyed dinner dances at the Parish Center and bingo at the VFW in Safety Harbor. As a Centenarian he was in the Safety Harbor Christmas Parade and the Fourth of July Parade.

Ed especially enjoyed spending time with family. He has 2 grandchildren, Nikki and Jessie, and 2 great grandchildren, Victoria(18) and Veronica(4). He also has 2 step grandsons, Matthew(18) and Liam(16). His life was busy and fun in New Jersey and in Florida, and he enjoyed every minute of it. He loved life and always had a smile on his face. His favorite thing to do was going out to eat. He really enjoyed his food.

Even though he did suffer some hardships and losses throughout his life his great faith in God carried him through them all and helped to shape the great man that he was. He was a kind, caring, giving and loving man with a great sense of humor. Everyone that had the privilege to know him, loved him.