Edward Eugene Meredith Jr, 63, of Upper St. Clair, formerly of Warren, OH and West Hartford, CT passed away on May 16th, 2019. After exceeding his predicted life expectancy due to pancreatic cancer by eight months, Ed Jr. ended his battle and passed away in his home. Ed continued to work and manage his family business into his final days.
Ed was the beloved husband of Stacey Shallenberger Meredith, son of Jean (Fitch) & the late Edward Meredith, Sr., loving father of Alexandra Biondi (Anthony), Edward Meredith III (Jessie), Lt. Colonel C. J. Scott, Lindsay Pavlick, Brian Pavlick (Jacolynne) and the late Daniel Scott, brother of Dr. Elaine Malec, Eric Meredith (Sara), Tencia Knight & the late Evelyn Vincent, grandfather of Benjamin, Tessa, Carson, Brooklyn, Milan, Raiden and Frankie, also many aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins. Before starting his professional career, Ed Jr was an inquisitive force.
In his teens he found that he could assemble machines and computers as well as he could disassemble them. This evolved into a lifelong passion that spanned all his hobbies and his career in electronics. As a mechanic for General Motors, Ed was certified in power plant, body, and electrical systems, and demonstrated his value as a mechanic and manager for over 15 years.
Ed transitioned to electronics in 1986. He was a certified ham radio operator as well. Ed Jr. worked for The Bell Telephone Company, which is now Verizon Communications Inc., first as technician and later in management.
Always a tech at heart, he was concerned and intrigued as Siemens pulled back from manufacturing, selling and then even repairing EWSD parts. Ed being Ed, the Wizard closeted himself in his workshop in the Pittsburgh Bell Building with a damaged part intrinsic to the telephone switch, emerging some days later with a working prototype. He had “let the smoke out,” and saved the day.
Verizon proudly rewarded him with the Verizon Excellence Award in 2004, the company’s highest award for achievement, at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington DC. Ed retired from Verizon after 23 years, but missed the technical work and all the wonderful people he had worked with. He and his father reopened Meredith Electronics, then realized there was still a need for EWSD, DMS, 5ESS parts and repair.
However, not many people were around to perform the work. He approached Verizon, and a relationship was happily renewed. The drive he had for his career was not lost when it came to his family and hobbies.
Ed Jr. never left a room without bringing laughter and smiles all around. He had an amazing ability to use his passion and goals to bond the people around him into an unstoppable team. Whether it was managing his workforce, teaching classes on EWSD, or blending his children into a family, Ed was the glue that held them all together.
From dad jokes and puns to stories of the past, there was never a dull moment with Ed around and he made everyone feel a part of it. He would always make time for friends and family regardless of what was going on for himself; if he could help you, he was there. At personal expense to himself, he always found the energy to do more.
He refused to fail. He was compelled to make a difference and this was never more apparent than with his devotion to his wife and children. He would stop at nothing to make sure they had everything they needed and quite a bit of what they wanted.
His biggest project was the restoration of the 1940 Chevrolet Special Deluxe that has been in the family for many generations, he had his hands in many vehicles and hobbies over the years. He spent time rebuilding boats and motorcycles, as well as maintaining personal vehicles and motorhomes since long before he was able to drive them. Ed’s passion for telecom extended to his interest in ham radios.
Even going as far as building an antenna powerful enough to reach the International Space Station. Ed did not like to be left with idle hands and found time to go to the firing range before work in his earlier days at Bell and then helping his friend in his garage when there was downtime between his work. He never stopped learning and adding to his knowledge of the things that interested him.
His best stories are too numerous to recount, and yet too important not to mention. They all had a punchline from literal free bops on the nose to his beloved grandchildren to stories like “I’m Sorry, I’m Sorry, I’m Sorry,” his gift for storytelling was legendary. To name a few, “Reese’s Cups” , “My Foot’s Stuck” , “Wooly Worms” , “The Physics of Motorcycles Tires” , “Fire Station Light” , “I Take the Long Way” , “Toast Crumbs”.
But he may always be remembered most fondly for his iconic Wedding Toast and his newly acquired nickname, Ed Efn Meredith. These stories are the the pieces of him that we all continue to carry with us and as long as we continue to tell them he will remain with us in our hearts. Visitation Thursday from 5-8 p.m. at the David J. Henney Funeral Home, 6364 Library Road (RT 88), Library.
A celebration of Ed’s life will be held Friday from 11 a.m.- 3 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza, 164 Ft. Couch Road, Pgh. , PA 15241.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in Ed’s name may be made to Wounded Warriors Project. www.
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