Edward Preston Scharnagl Jr.

Edward P. Scharnagl, Jr., age 88, from Toms River, NJ, passed away peacefully on May 3, 2023, surrounded by his loving family. Ed was a loving husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather and friend to many.

As a 45+ year resident of Toms River, he was known as “Mr. Ed” by almost everyone with whom he came in contact. Together, Mr. Ed and Janet, his beloved wife of 38 years, raised their four children – Karen, Gregg, Donna, and Michael – in Toms River.

When he wasn’t working as a machinist supervisor at Lakehurst Naval Air Station, Mr. Ed wanted to be where his family was. From the mid-1970s to the early-1990s, Mr. Ed and Janet shared their love of baseball by volunteering their time with Little League at the Toms River Little League (TRLL), then New Jersey District 18 and ultimately at the NJ State level. Janet was the first female president of the TRLL, while Mr. Ed was a coach, umpire, and board member before becoming District 18 and State Administrator. During their many hours of volunteering, you could find the enthusiastic couple lovingly mowing and edging the baseball fields, fixing chain link fences, and meticulously painting the dugouts.

Always wanting to help and share his expertise, Mr. Ed really enjoyed coaching. Alongside his many years of coaching with Hank Osterman and Mike Hreniuk, he added umpiring to his volunteer offerings, including training for other umpires. Mr. Ed also enjoyed umpiring high school baseball and softball games, and he often shared stories of his on-field interactions with players and coaches with his family and friends.

With the patience of a saint and the wisdom of Solomon, Mr. Ed served 11 years as District 18 Administrator for NJ Little League Baseball, a liaison role between the local leagues in Ocean and Monmouth Counties and Little League headquarters in Williamsport, PA. As a volunteer, he assisted leagues in interpretation and enforcement of rules and regulations, tournament planning, scheduling and anything else that could help the league grow and thrive to support more children interested in playing baseball or softball. During tournament time, in the summer of every year, if you wanted to see Mr. Ed, you would have to catch him either at a tournament site overseeing operations or in his dining room charting scores and mapping out the rest of the schedule. Mr. Ed took many trips to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, making friends with other administrators and fans from around the world. There was a tradition of exchanging pins from one’s district with other districts in the United States, and Mr. Ed proudly displayed his massive collection in frames (by year) throughout his den.

“Eddie,” as his parents knew him, was born on August 14, 1934, in Camden, NJ, to the late Edward (Sr.) and Katherine Scharnagl. He attended Collingswood High School and Pennsylvania Military College, and then went on to serve our nation in the US Navy, as a machinist. He was valuable to the Navy because he learned how to precisely fix large machinery such as trucks and tanks. His Navy career as a Seabee (the Naval Construction Battalions) took him to exotic places in the world, such as Turks and Caicos as well as Northern Africa. After his official military service concluded, he continued to serve his country in the Naval Air Engineering Centers in Philadelphia and Lakehurst, which is what brought his family to Toms River, before retiring in 1997.

Mr. Ed is survived by his children (and their spouses): Karen Wilson (Chuck), Gregg (Kathleen), Donna Canavan (Michael) and Michael (Allison); his grandchildren: Hannah, Brian, Meghan, Amanda, Will, Jack, Sean, April and Doug; and his great grandchildren, Alexis, Lola and Logan.

Mr. Ed was a life-long Philadelphia sports fan, but his passion was for the Eagles and the Phillies. His fandom dated back to the early 1940s from which he had an Eagles pennant that he had gotten at Franklin Field while watching a game with his father. He celebrated two World Series championships for the Phillies, a Super Bowl title for the Birds, two Stanley Cup championships for the Flyers and an NBA championship for the 76ers.

Mr. Ed wasn’t fancy – he just knew what he liked and savored the simple things. In the summers, he loved to lay out the newspaper on the picnic table for his favorite feast: Barnegat Bay blue claw crabs, Silver Queen corn and cold Miller High Life beer.

Across all aspects of life, Mr. Ed was a man of principle. He was honest. He not only showed up when he said he would – he always did way more than what was expected of him. Very friendly, he could strike up conversation with anyone on anything and referred to everyone he met as either “fella” or “hon.” He read the newspaper daily and looked forward to time with his family and friends.

Mr. Ed will be remembered for his kind heart, infectious smile, and giving spirit. He will be missed by all who knew and loved him.

A service in Edward’s honor will be held on Saturday, May 20, 2023, from 1-4 pm, with a funeral service at 3:30 pm at the Anderson & Campbell Funeral Home, 703 Main Street, Toms River, NJ. Keeping with his legacy of community volunteerism, in lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Toms River Little League via Paypal through ThanksMrEd.com.