Edward F. Engelbride, 90, a lifelong Cold Spring resident, died May 25.
He was born at Butterfield Hospital on Jan. 20, 1934, the son of Edward and Rose Engelbride. He attended Haldane High School and served as class president for four years. In 1952 he was hired by IBM as an equipment engineer focused on automating chip production in Poughkeepsie and East Fishkill. He retired in 1991 after 39 years.
In 1955 he wed Shirley Dailey of Croton. They were married for 58 years until her death in 2013. In 1956, Ed was drafted into the 168th Engineering Battalion of the U.S. Army. He was assigned to Stuttgart, Germany, serving as a corporal. He was honorably discharged in 1958 and returned to Cold Spring.
Ed served as a sergeant in the Philipstown Civil Defense effort; worked for the county elections commission; served as a tax assessor for the Philipstown for 10 years; and served on the Town Board for 12 years.
Ed joined the Knights of Columbus in 1952 and rose to the level of 4th degree Knight. He was a lifelong parishioner at Our Lady of Loretto and, in his youth, often attended Mass in the choir loft with his mother, who was the organist. He was past president and board member of the Garrison Fish and Game Club, a lifelong member of the Republican Party, a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and served as commander of the American Legion.
One of his proudest accomplishments was being one of the six founding members of the North Highlands Fire Co., for which he served as a fire commissioner for nine years and a trustee for 10 years.
In addition to his public service, Ed had an unwitting ability to enjoy life through experiences that often focused on “four-letter words”: kids and gran kids, cats, dogs, deer, fish, hunt, game, wood, camp, fire, lawn, yard, trip, pool, swim and Jack.
Ed is survived by his children, Shirley Ann Culotta (Ray) of Cold Spring, and Edward Engelbride (Mary Beth) of Delmar, as well as his grandchildren: Kira Semple (Kevin) and their two children; Aaron Culotta; Edward (“Ned”) Engelbride; Patrick Engelbride; and Maeve Engelbride.
Visitation will be held at Clinton Funeral Home, 21 Parrot St., in Cold Spring on Thursday (May 30) from 4 to 7 p.m. A Mass of Christian burial will be held at Our Lady of Loretto, 24 Fair St., in Cold Spring on Friday at 10 a.m., followed by burial at Cold Spring Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to American Legion Post 275, 10 Cedar St., Cold Spring, NY 10516, or the Putnam Humane Society (puthumane.org).
