Edward L. Bushnell

Beloved husband, father & grandfather, Edward L. Bushnell passed on into the arms of our Heavenly Father on March 2, 2017. Ed put up a valiant fight against acute leukemia (AML) for the past ten months. He was born February 17, 1942, in Aberdeen, Washington, and was the son of a commercial fisherman who fished out of Tokeland on Willapa Bay. Growing up in the country and going to Ocosta High School was clearly a special time which included playing basketball and participating in track and field. In 1957 Russia launched a satellite (Sputnik). This gave Ed the idea of being an Aeronautical & Astronautical engineer. He followed through by graduating from the U of Wa. and having a career in this field. While working he always wanted to help others in their careers and wrote a mission statement, "Everyone I meet and work with I want to make a positive change in their lives". Little did Ed realize how important this became during his work with McDonnell Douglas and Boeing. After retiring in 2004, he was asked by Boeing to help on several projects and went back to do contract consulting for seven more years. Several of his co-workers commented how much they appreciated his help in their careers having become executives in the company.

While going to the University, Ed met Jeanne and they were soon married at University Lutheran Church in 1965. He had just gotten a Bachelors Degree and wanted to continue on to get a Masters Degree, but he no longer could get deferred from active duty in the Navy. After only 10 months of marriage, he was serving on a Destroyer and later on Swift boats in Vietnam. Fortunately service ended and Ed was able to use the GI bill and a PhD fellowship to get his advanced degree. That enabled Ed and Jeanne to get a job in California and have three great children (Lance, Kristin, Julie).

They had a wonderful life working and traveling around the world. Jeanne was the trip planner and they enjoyed all the opportunities to see the British Isles, continental Europe, Hong Kong, Russia, etc.

Retirement has been excellent using time shares and having a winter home in Mesquite, Nv., as well as a primary home in Gig Harbor.

A celebration of Ed's life will be held on Saturday, April 22nd, 2017, at 2:00 p.m., at St. Mark's Lutheran Church, 6730 N. 17th St., Tacoma, Wa. 98406. In lieu of flowers, remembrances can be made to either St. Mark's Lutheran Church or Mesquite United Methodist Church, 420 W. Pioneer Blvd., Mesquite, Nv. 89027