On April 10, 2024, Ed Clas, our beloved father, passed away after a long fight with dementia. He was 91 years old. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland to Marguerite and Edward Clas Sr. He worked on a dairy farm in Eastern Maryland and learned all his life skills as he grew up there. He had six brothers and sisters – Robert (deceased), Richard, Heidi, Paul, Helena and Joe.
Ed (“Pete”) is survived by his three children, Charles (Butch) Clas, Nancy Clas and Barbara Szalwinski. He is also survived by his 10 grandchildren, Gerald, Jennifer, Stefanie, Catherine, David, Nicole, Alex, Jack, Ryan and Kristin and two great grandchildren.
After spending a year at the University of Maryland, he spent a couple of years in the U.S. Navy. He moved from Baltimore to Denver in 1956 with Martin Marietta and spent 37 years working for them. He met his wife, Paula, at Martin and they married in 1959.
Ed was an avid car enthusiast with Chevrolet and the 1957 Corvette being his favorite car. He had three of them – a purple, red and black one. He had a lot of other Chevrolets that were his favorites – a couple of El Caminos, three Camaros (including a Z-28), a Buick Grand National and a GMC Syclone.
He could talk with you about anything related to cars and had an intense knowledge of how to fix anything. He also loved to drag race (including at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison) and always bragged about how he, “blew their doors off”!
He was a great father – he could mediate problems and tried to find compromise when there was conflict. He showed that with his kids as well as with his grandchildren. He was a supportive father and grandfather.
The one thing we will miss the most is his laugh. Bordering on a cackle, he loved jokes and humor and was always quick to show his wit. The laughter would always lighten up the conversations and lead to a lot of good vibes and good times.
There will be no memorial service. If you wish to make a donation in his memory, we would ask you make a contribution to the Alzheimer’s Association - https://act.alz.org
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