Edward William Hollingshead

Edward William (Ed) Hollingshead, engineer and mediator, beloved husband and father, passed away January 23, 2016 at age 66 at Orchard Park Healthcare Center as a result of a brain aneurysm suffered in 2009.  He is survived by his wife Marian (Duwe) Hollingshead, daughters Kristy (Tristan) Seitz and Dawn (Brian) Whiting, and grandsons Van and Escher Whiting.  He is preceded in death by his parents Gustav and Lucy (Fehl) Hollingshead.

Born in Jersey City, NJ, Ed received his engineering degree from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ in 1971. There he enjoyed singing in the glee club - a precursor to many years in church choirs – and joined the ROTC.  After college, Ed joined  the Air Force where he received his meteorology training in Raleigh, NC and was then stationed at Carswell Air Force Base in Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX.  He came to Madison, WI for his master’s degree, where he met and married Marian, his instructor in his first meteorology course there – she gave him an A- in the course but gives him an A+ as a husband. 

After graduation, Ed and Marian moved to Bellevue, NE where Ed was stationed at Global Weather Central.  He and Marian had fun co-chairing the local chapter of the American Meteorological Society.  The Hollingsheads soon became Mama Bear and Papa Bear with the birth of their elder daughter, Kristy.  Shortly after, Ed was given the choice of where to go for a remote (unaccompanied) assignment, so he chose Seoul, Korea where Marian managed to get a position as an Agency for International Development professor at Seoul National University. The whole family was in Korea until Ed’s dad died unexpectedly and his mother had a stroke, at which point Ed separated from the Air Force and moved to Denver, where he was delighted by the birth of their younger daughter, Dawn, who was quickly nicknamed Dawn Bear, a nickname that stuck with her (much to her chagrin) well into high school. 

In Denver, Ed worked for Martin Marietta (now Lockheed Martin) as a system engineer.  When Ed was caught in the massive aerospace layoffs in 1992, he decided to become a mediator and was certified by the University of Denver. He supported the Presbytery of Denver and Jefferson County Mediation Services as a volunteer and eventually was employed by Jefferson County to develop a Victim-Offender Mediation Program.  He made good use of his free time by serving as a (fabulous!) “Guard Dad” to the Chatfield Senior High School marching band color guard and winter guard, for 3 years with Kristy and then 4 more with Dawn.  In 1998, he was approached by Boeing and returned to aerospace as a system engineer, where he remained until his brain aneurysm in 2009. 

Ed served as Clerk of Session at Genesis Presbyterian Church for fifteen years, after which he and Marian transferred to Columbine United Church where they were both active in choir. 

Known as the “Mayor” of South Mesa Oak where they lived since 1986, he was frequently seen “porching” papers early in the morning and enjoying the sight of deer – and occasionally moose – drinking from the pond by the front door.  He particularly enjoyed the Christmas luminaria, organizing and lighting hundreds of luminaria candles for more than twenty years to ensure that the entire block was completely lighted.  People from all over Ken Caryl would come to enjoy the peace and quiet of the display.

Summers included many family camping trips to the mountains.  Ed and Marian loved hiking in the mountains (particularly when it was not thundering!), Kristy and Dawn enjoyed cutting firewood with Ed after the forced march on Saturdays, and everyone had fun with wieners over the campfire and the required s’mores.  As the girls got older, summer trips included visits to Mexico, Canada, Britain, and Spain.  The highlight of all the family vacations was the trip in 2002 to the south island of New Zealand.  The helicopter tour of the glaciers was amazing!  Landing on top of a narrow ridge above Milford Sound was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and it was fun eating “kibbles” at the top of New Zealand’s tallest waterfall. 

Ed touched countless lives during his sojourn on this earth, and we all treasure our many happy memories with him. Comments from friends and family are welcome.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Columbine United Church, 6375 S Platte Canyon Rd Littleton, CO 80123 at 4:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation (www.bafound.org/donate) or Habitat for Humanity (www.habitat.org).

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