Edward Williams

Ed (Eddie) Williams, age 95, of Pleasant Hills, Pennsylvania, died on Tuesday, June 4^th, 2024, after a brief battle with cancer. He was born in Brooklyn, NY on February 17, 1929, to Hubert and Margaret (Charitas) Williams, the youngest of three children.

Ed graduated from Brooklyn’s Fort Hamilton High School in 1946. Afterwards, he earned his Mechanical Engineering degree from Bucknell University. He was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and very involved with the school’s Cap and Dagger organization, regularly performing in plays and musicals. He spent his summers in the Poconos working as a waiter and entertainer. (Move over Patrick Swayzee)

After college, Ed enlisted in the US Navy and served on the USS Bennington in the Pacific Fleet. He saw many different ports of call in South America and the Far East. After his discharge, he briefly worked for Allegheny Ludlum and was sent to work on a project in Dunkirk, New York. It was there he met his wife, Arlene. They moved to Pleasant Hills in 1962 and raised three daughters. Ed was employed by Westinghouse Electric for his entire career, mostly in the nuclear division. After retirement, he worked part-time for the Sony Corporation. He taught computer classes to senior citizens at his church, where he served as an acolyte for decades.

 Ed loved to play golf and could be found on many local courses. A native New Yorker and a lover of all things ocean, the family would often go to Jones Beach in the Summer, where he would body surf  in the biggest waves he could find. A talented amateur photographer, he had hundreds, no, thousands of slides and movies from his military days and family life. No one, not friend, family, neighbor and yes, new boyfriend, ever entered our house without Dad pulling out the projector and treating them to a two hour media presentation! Admittedly, most walked away with an appreciation of just how good the photos were and how lucky we were for him to have captured so many memories on film.

Mostly, he just loved to build things and fix other things: replica models, radios, tv’s, games, walls, outdoor brick fireplaces, decks, and unfinished basements. Some of those projects, constructed in the 60’s and early 70’s, can still be found in the yards and homes where he built them.

He was preceded in death by his sister, Joan Gikas, and his wife Arlene. Ed is survived by his brother, John Williams, of Naples, FL; three daughters, Dawn (Philip) Baird, Dana (Samuel) Barone, and Diana (Stephen) Wood; and eight grandchildren, Derrick Bachman, John (Ixchel) Parr-Culver, Dean Culver, Ryan (Madaleine) Wood, Alexandra (Patrick) Graham, Benjamin (Quinny) Tran-Wood, Gennaro Wood, and Lizzy Wood.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at the Anglican Church of the Transfiguration, 206 S 3^rd Ave., Elizabeth, PA, 15037 on Monday, June 10^th, 2024, at 10:00AM. Seating and parking are limited.

His burial will take place at Queen of Heaven Cemetery, McMurray, PA immediately following his Mass.