- Date Of Death: October 26, 2011
- State: New Jersey
On October 26th, Ed Paulson joined his beloved Fanni’s soul in Heaven’s garden. Fittingly, he will be laid to rest alongside his bride on what would have been their 68th wedding anniversary. Born during a snow storm in 1921, Edward Stephen (Polniaszek) Paulson was the youngest son of Stanley and Frances Polniaszek in Nanticoke, Pennsylvania. He loved to recount to his sons and daughters and their children his many daring childhood adventures which seemed more like tales of successful mischief.
He was a most loyal brother to his siblings, Leo, Clement, Victoria, Amelia, and Frances, all of whom predeceased him. He was a devoted brother to all of them and to their families. Ed left the coal-mining region to attend sheet metal training school in Baltimore, Maryland, and later settled in Burlington, New Jersey, only to be drafted into the Army Air Force during World War II. After emergency basic training on a Florida golf course, he earned the rank of Sergeant and served in White Horse in the Yukon Territory and in Fairbanks, Alaska. All this gave rise to more daring tales of adventures along the Alaskan Highway, and photos of ice-skating and fishing in the Yukon River, or balancing atop the guardrails of a suspension bridge high above that River.
He was able to take leave of duty long enough to marry Philomena Bucci (“Fanni”) on Halloween, 1943. Returning to Burlington after the War, Ed worked as a pattern maker apprentice at the US Pipe foundry in Burlington. In that trade, he excelled, and his eye for detail was only matched by his skill and ability to hand-make anything imaginable from wood. Indeed, he hand-crafted the original wooden models of the head and side ornaments of the Desoto automobile. Before “officially” retiring in 1982, Ed worked at Rohm & Haas Co. in Bristol, PA, where he served as a maintenance foreman. Ed was a loving and devoted father to all of his five children. He shared many moments of fun and family adventure, while also teaching them about responsibility, self-reliance, and survival. He shared secrets of his woodworking and gardening skills while selflessly giving time, energy and dedicated interest to the individual interests of each of his children.
Ed was also devoted to and exemplified his Catholic faith. Through his example, Ed’s family members learned the value of compassion and caring as a way of life. For nearly 66 years, Ed was the devoted husband of Fanni. For her, he picked blueberries, canned tomatoes, and cooked marshmallows to her specific liking. He rehabilitated a rambling three story house on Perkins Lane in Beverly and made it a home – the home where he and Fanni raised their family and many animals; where he planted and harvested a year-round organic garden; and where he maintained a sawdust-filled workshop. A perpetual “romantic,” he brought Fanni the flowers he grew, he carved hearts and their initials in the tree just outside their kitchen window, and he would make a huge heart in each year’s first snowfall so she could see it from her favorite window.
His patience and devotion as a husband have provided a model for his children and his grandchildren. Ed showed yet another talent on the birth of his nine grandchildren, Douglas and Timothy Paulson, Matthew and Daniel and Jason Craig, Sy and Lily Paulson, and Gordon and Andrew Paulson. To some people Ed was known for his gruff demeanor, but to his grandchildren he was known for being physically gentle and as having a soothing voice. He could stop any one of them from crying at any time. As they grew, they looked forward to his unique and useful hand-made wooden Christmas presents. Indeed, everyone in his family and many of his friends and acquaintances were blessed with his wooden gifts, his organic produce, and his gardening skills. Ed was an avid Phillies and Nittany Lions fan.
He was active in the South Jersey Organic Gardening Club, the Knights of Columbus, and the Sacred Heart Society, but mostly he gave his time and energy and talents to anyone he thought needed a hand, and he never asked for anything in return. Most recently, he lived at the Clare Estate in Bordentown, New Jersey with Cara, the faithful dog that Ed and Fanni saved and raised. While at Clare, he grew produce and flowers that many other residents enjoyed. Ed Paulson is survived by his son, Gregory and his wife Jane Pugliese of Lancaster, PA; his daughter, Christina Reik and her partner Anthony Guida of New York City; his son, Mark and his wife Patti Horn of New York City; his son, Blaise and his wife Janice Edwards of Raleigh, NC; his daughter, Lisa Craig and her husband Ed Craig of Paw Paw, Michigan; and by all of his nine grandchildren.
