Obituary of Del A. Edgbert

No visitation Del A. Edgbert Del A. Edgbert, a precious, creative, and extraordinarily decent husband, father, and friend, passed away on August 18, 2007, the night his high school classmates were celebrating their class reunion, losing his battle with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). He passed away peacefully at home with family and friends. Del was born on March 3, 1939 and lived most of his life in Olympia. He leaves behind his wife of 30 years, Paulette; his children, GayLynn Heinrich, and her husband, Jeff, Jay Edgbert, and his wife, Jessica, and Quinn Thompson; and his four grandchildren. Del loved his family and eagerly helped them with home remodeling, advice, and support. He is also survived by two brothers, Bill and Bruce, and one sister, Wilma Muir, all living in Washington. Del graduated from Olympia High School in 1957 and from the Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho in 1962. He began his life as a seafaring man when he joined the United States Coast Guard immediately after graduating from high school. Del was stationed aboard the cutter "Yacona", based at Astoria, Oregon. Del was a man of many talents. Although much of his life was devoted to longshoreing and the Longshoreman's Union, he was also a high school English teacher and an instructor of English as a Second Language, and taught for the United States Navy's Programs Afloat for College Education (P.A.C.E.) aboard ships and in foreign countries. He was president of the Local 47 and Longshoreman's caucus and convention delegate which included small ports negotiator for many years. Del's quest for adventure led him to become a boat inspector in Taiwan. He also assisted Paulette in her Olympia- based business, Thompson Framing. Creativity defined Del's life. His avocations were as diverse as his professional interests. He restored the historic sailboat "Schooner Martha", once owned by James Cagney, a landmark in Olympia for over 20 years. He and Paulette hosted many charter sailing trips throughout the San Juan Islands. He logged over 11,000 miles of sailing. Del also restored street rods. Each was an amazing demonstration of his originality. Del and Paulette traveled to 40 countries, their favorites being those in the Third World. He was concerned with abused workers. He was humbled by those who had so little, but were so eager to share. His major regret was that his time to give back was shortened. In Del's words, "I'm happy I've taken the road less traveled." Regarding his street rod creations, he said, "Once again, it's the journey from junk to cool, that motivates me." Del was cool, he was a creator, and now he is with his creator! In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Schooner Martha Foundation, 1010 Valley Street, Suite 100, Seattle, Washington, 98109. Services will be held at the Mountain View Nazarene Church, 940 Israel Road S.W., Olympia, on Friday, August 24, 2007, at 3:00 p.m.