Edward Frederick Carlberg, Jr.
Nov. 15, 1922 — May 15, 2013
Ed Carlberg passed away peacefully in his beloved San Juan Island home on May 15, 2013, after a short illness.
Born in Seattle on Nov. 15, 1922, Ed grew up in Centralia, Port Angeles, and Kent, Wash. During his freshman year at the University of Washington he joined the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, signed up for Navy ROTC, rowed crew, and fell in love with Elizabeth Ann “Betty” Fairburn.
His college education was interrupted when he was called to active duty as a Navy lieutenant in 1944, finding himself at age 21 serving as a ship’s officer in the Philippines and South Pacific.
Upon his safe return he married Betty and both finished their degrees, Ed earning two degrees in engineering.
He joined the Boeing Airplane Company as an engineer in 1949, spending the next 30 years managing a variety of engineering groups. An early pioneer in the field of CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing), he was manager of technology for Boeing Computer Services back when computers were still quite rare. He raised a family in Seattle and was a founding member and SCUBA instructor for the Boeing Seahorses skindiving club.
Upon his retirement, Ed and Betty moved to the west side of San Juan Island and built their dream home, just the two of them, from the foundations up. They enjoyed frequent vacations to the Caribbean, Hawaii, and South Pacific.
Ed was very active in the community, as a member and past commodore of the San Juan Island Yacht Club, member of the Power Squadron, treasurer for the Mullis Senior Center, elected freeholder for San Juan County and volunteer fire fighter.
Gracious and fun-loving, Ed was loved and respected by everyone who came in contact with him.
Preceded in death by his beloved wife of 67 years, Betty, and by his daughter Dr. Kristen Carlberg, he is survived by another daughter, Dr. Karen Carlberg (Spokane), son Robert Carlberg (Edmonds), one grandchild, and sister Barbara Belnap (Pasadena, Calif.). No services are planned.
In his honor, please support the San Juan Preservation Trust, which was very important to Ed.
—Family of Ed Carlberg
