Obituary Record

Ed Crutsinger
Died on 1/8/1972
Buried in Herman Cemetery

Death date established through Blair Cemetery records. Published in the Enterprise January 13, 1972. A photograph is included in this newspaper article.

ED CRUTSINGER, QUIET, INDEPENDENT, DIED LAST SATURDAY

Ed Crutsinger, long-time Blair resident, died at his home on east Washington Street last Saturday, following a brief illness.

Ed, frequently seen on main street, but seldom in the news, was an unusual individual. He had few close friends, he visited very little, read much and lived very thriftily.

Alone in the world for many years, he lived off what others wasted and he saved most of what he gained. Some felt that he had amassed a modest fortune, others felt that he had mostly managed to “get along”.

Regardless, Ed was stoutly independent. He asked no aid from anyone and he was a law abiding citizen beyond reproach.

Very little is known here about the deceased. It is known he was born October 23, 1882. His place of birth is not known locally, although it is presumed to have been in South Dakota where it is known that he lived as a young man. He was 89 years of age at his death.

He came to the Blair area fifty years, or more ago. No one knows the exact date. For a time he was a farmer. Later he operated a light dray and delivery service about the city.

After that he became interested in the salvage business. He gathered in old farm machinery, iron, wire and other saleable items which he classified carefully and sold through scrap metal outlets in Omaha. In more recent years he has lived in retirement.

He lived frugally and one of his favorite daily stops was the lobby of the post office where he enjoyed looking over the catalogs and advertising pieces which postal patrons discarded in the waste basket.

Extremely hard of hearing, Ed was unable to visit and as a result his comments were confined to a quick “Good Day” and a ready smile. He had no comments and few knew what he was thinking about.

He is survived by a son, Joe E. Crutsinger of Bennington and by four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

It is known that he possessed a 50-year membership pin in the Odd Fellows Lodge at Gettysburg, South Dakota. Through the years he maintained his membership there although he left that area as a young man.

Funeral services were held at the Bendorf Funeral Home Wednesday morning and burial was made in the cemetery at Herman. Pallbearers were Lynn Armstrong, Roy Follen, Leslie Bucklin, Elmer Anderson, Clarence Maxwell and Carroll Thornburgh.

Printed in the Washington County Enterprise on 1/13/1972


[BACK]