Edward Joseph Ferrari

Edward J. Ferrari died Sunday, August 24, 2014 at the Carlyle Healthcare Center in Carlyle at the age of 91 years.
Edward Joseph Ferrari was born on April 23, 1923 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Italian immigrant parents, Silvio and Marie Trione Ferrari. He was the youngest of six children and he was preceded in death by all five of his siblings.
Ed grew up in Milwaukee, graduated from high school there, and then joined the U.S. Navy during the time of World War II. He served for five years, and his major assignment was as a Signalman on an Italian-manned boat in U.S. anti-submarine warfare exercises. He also received an assignment as a Communications Instructor at the Navy Pier in Chicago and then was accepted in the Navy Officers Training Program at Central Methodist College in Fayette, Missouri. It was there that he met the love of his life, Patty Lou Edwards, who would become his bride on December 23, 1944. Their marriage was a long, devoted one, spanning nearly 70 years.
Following the war, the couple settled in Ferguson, Missouri where Ed began his career in a Government Records office, later transferring to the Social Security Administration office out of Sedalia, Missouri, where he worked for many years. Ed and his wife Patty had two daughters: Kelly was born in 1950 and Lonnie in 1953. In 1967 the Ferrari family moved to Freeport, IL, where Ed finished his career by serving in the U.S. Post Office, and then he retired, hitched a camping trailer to his station wagon, and took his wife Patty on a long, enjoyable adventure of camping across the United States, with a goal of visiting as many national parks as possible! During these 33 years they resided in Mesa, AZ and shared their happiest years in the Arizona desert. They were a faithful church-going family and Ed and his wife attended St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Mesa, AZ for over thirty years.
Ed is survived by his wife, Patty Ferrari, daughter Kelly and her husband John Mills of Eaton, CO, daughter Lonnie and her husband Roger Hayes of Carlyle, IL, four grandchildren, Casey Hayes of So. Pasadena, CA, Chad Hayes of Highland, IL, Christopher Clayton of Hershey, PA, and Christina Contreras of Eaton, CO, and eight great-grandchildren. His fantastic sense of humor and will be greatly missed. The last years of Ed’s life were spent at Greeley Place in Greeley, CO and Villa Catherine in Carlyle.
The family extends heartfelt gratitude to the staff at Villa Catherine who blessed them so much in his final year of life - and they are all at peace, knowing that Ed knew Jesus, his Savior, and is with the “saints marching in.”
A joint memorial service for both Patty and her husband Ed will be held at the Living Stones Church of God, 991 Franklin Street in Carlyle at 3:30 pm on Sunday, August 31, 2014.
The Frerker Funeral Home in Carlyle is serving the family.