Dennis L. Edie of Delmar, NY, age 82, passed away peacefully at St. Peter’s Hospital on Tuesday, December 5, 2023 from complications of Parkinson’s Disease. His wife Ann, his elder son Eric, and other family members were comforted to be gathered around Dennis at the time of his passing.
Dennis was the eldest of the five children of Lee and Lorna Edie. He grew up in Port Huron Township, Michigan, and graduated from Port Huron High School. He went on to earn his B.A. in Chemistry and Engineering from Oakland University in 1966, His M.S. in Chemistry from Wayne State University in 1969, and his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania in 1973. In August of 1973, Dr. Edie married Ann Pasquale of Short Hills, N.J., and the couple departed for a three-year residence in Kobe, Japan where Dennis conducted chemical research for a private chemical company, followed by a two-year stay in Taiwan where he worked at an industrial research institute. The couple’s first child, Eric, was born in Taiwan.
After returning to the U.S., the Edie family moved to Portsmouth, Virginia where Dennis worked to improve and support manufacturing production at Virginia Chemicals. The family’s second son, Wayne, was born in Portsmouth.
Dr. Edie and his family moved to the Albany area in 1985, and have resided in Clarksville and Delmar since then. The Edies’ daughter, CarolAnn, was born in Albany. Dr. Edie was employed as a research and process organic chemist at the BASF Corporation in Rensselaer, NY. He had a lifelong interest in medicine and served as an EMT with the Onesquethaw Volunteer Fire Company for several years. He received his Paramedic certification under the tutelage of members of the Delmar Volunteer Ambulance squad, and always expressed his gratitude for their mentorship and friendship.
Dennis was a very involved and loving father to his three children. He enjoyed showing them new things, teasing and playing with them, and especially reading bedtime stories. He was an enthusiastic supporter of the “Parents as Reading Partners” program at the Clarksville Elementary School where all three children attended. As the only driver in the family, Dennis ferried the children to soccer practices, swimming meets, instrumental music lessons, ballet classes, and many school and social events. He enjoyed volunteering as a helper for special science events at school, such as dissections of cows’ eyes and fetal pigs, and he loved demonstrating equipment such as heart monitors to middle school classes. Perhaps due to his signature Afro hair style and to the fact that he was always seen reading a thick medical or science book, Dennis was known to many school children as “Dr. Einstein.” He was an excellent ice skater and roller skater, and regularly attended ice skating parties at the town park and roller skating parties at the elementary and middle schools with the children to show off his moves and to help keep everyone safe. In recent years Dennis was amused to observe the antics of the Edies’ four young grandsons. This past August Dennis and Ann celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, still very much in love.
Dennis was predeceased by his brother Kurt. He is survived by his three sisters: Karen Lofto and husband Brian, Kay Weimer and husband Phil, and Marcia Colette. He is also survived by his wife, Ann, by his son Eric and Eric’s fiance Jamie Thompson; his son Wayne, Wayne’s wife Karen Burgardt, and their sons Gabriel and Michael; and by his daughter CarolAnn Buzzard, CarolAnn’s husband Kyle, and their sons Logan and Aspen. Dennis will be remembered as a very intelligent and funny person who was always ready to lend a hand with any chore or project.
Friends and colleagues are invited to gather to visit with the family and share memories of Dennis at the Applebee Funeral Home, 403 Kenwood Ave, Delmar, NY on Friday, December 29, 2023 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. with concluding remarks at 1:00 p.m. To Memorialize him in lieu of flowers, donations in Dr. Edie's name may be made to the Capital District Parkinson’s Support Group, www.cdparkinsons.org or to the Onesquethaw Volunteer Fire Company, www.onesquethaw.com.