Edgar Dennis Early

EDGAR DENNIS EARLY We are saddened to announce that Edgar Dennis Early has departed on his next great adventure. He was 98 1/2. He joins his wife of 52 years Dorothy Maude Early who passed in 1995. For 63 years he has been a resident of Fortuna, raising three sons Raymond, Dennis and Thomas. He is survived also by five grandchildren Eddie, Christopher, Dana, Sean and Crystal; and seven great-grandchildren. Edgar was born in Eureka, California on August 13, 1916 the son of John Early and Loretta Collins Early and a sibling of Harold and Virginia Early. He was raised in Loleta, California, attended Fortuna High School, and worked as a dairyman until enlisting in the Navy on January 11, 1940. While in the Navy he served as an Ordnanceman, and became a master aircraft and vehicle mechanic. Ed served mostly on aircraft carriers USS Essex and USS Enterprise in the Pacific Theatre. He was on the USS Enterprise which sailed into Pearl Harbor just hours after the second bombing wave on December 7, 1941. After meeting his sweetheart while stationed for a time in Cape May, New Jersey, he married her in 1943. Upon completing his Navy service in January 1946 and living for a brief time on the East Coast, he and his new family returned to Humboldt County. He worked as a dairyman, and was in the lumber and plywood industry until establishing a career with the California Highway Patrol as Maintenance Supervisor. When he took his qualifications exam for that position, he finished #1 in the state and had his choice of openings. He chose Humboldt County and worked out of the Arcata office. Ed worked for the CHP for nearly 20 years before retiring. Before Ed's passing in Fortuna, he served on the Fortuna City Planning Commission, was a longtime member of the Police Department's SCOP (Senior Citizens On Patrol), and volunteered at Redwood Memorial Hospital with his wife Dorothy. He was involved also with helping Dorothy with her music projects. She was instrumental in establishing the Fortuna Christmas Music Festival in the late 1970s. He loved fishing, some hunting, working on cars, and traveling with Dot in their camper on Good Sam adventures. Ed will be honored with a ceremony at Sunrise Cemetery, 3315 Newburg Road in Fortuna on March 14th at 1:00 PM. Following a remembrance by Pastor Linda Ford of the Fortuna United Methodist Church and a Military Honor Guard, there will be a reception at the Fortuna Methodist Church at 922 "N" Street in Fortuna. Family and friends are invited to attend. In lieu of flowers or for those who wish to remember Ed with a memorial donation, we wish to suggest Hospice of Humboldt, 2010 Myrtle Avenue, Eureka California 95501 and the annual Fortuna Christmas music Festival, c/o Michael McClimon, 5391 Rohnerville Road, Fortuna, California 95540. Blessing to Ed. He will be missed.

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