Edwin Wallace Lord, Jr.  of Hanover, NH, local sports super fan, passed away peacefully on August 24, 2023 at the Jack Byrne Center in Lebanon, NH. He lived 95 wonderful years, devoted to his family and friends.

Ed was born in Ashby, MA on January 16, 1928, the only child of Edwin and Lois (Loveland) Lord. He graduated from Ashby High School in 1946 and served in the Marines before attending Syracuse University. After the early death of his father, Ed returned to Ashby and soon met the love of his life, Shirley MacDonald, of neighboring Fitchburg, MA through mutual friends and they were married in Fitchburg in 1955. During this time Ed began working for New England Telephone Company, embarking on a career that would span 40 years. With his gift of remembering names and stories, he spent the bulk of his career as a claims adjuster in the legal department. In 1969, Ed was transferred north to cover Vermont and he and Shirley moved to Hanover with their two young daughters.

Sports played a huge role in Ed’s life. He loved good competition and the community that sports fosters. Growing up in Ashby he excelled in baseball, basketball, and pond hockey. He was a lifelong Red Sox fan, fondly remembering his first visit to Fenway Park with his dad in 1936. He played baseball on the freshman team at Syracuse. During his early days with Shirley in Fitchburg, they enjoyed many skiing excursions with the Floppenoffen Ski Club and Ed started playing golf at the Oak Hill Country Club. He also played softball for many years in the Fitchburg city league. When Ed and Shirl moved to Hanover, they ditched their old wooden skis and continued to ski with their daughters through the Ford Sayre Ski Club at the old rope tow on the Hanover golf course, Oak Hill, and the Dartmouth Skiway. They made lasting friendships through skiing and spent decades enjoying year-round adventures with the ski group, also known as The Over-the-Hill Gang. They learned to play tennis in Hanover, and Ed continued his golf career at the Hanover Country Club, where he enjoyed the friendships made during his 40 year membership. Ed’s greatest glory in golf came in 1985 when he sank a hole-in-one on the fourth hole at HCC’s annual member-guest tournament. He continued to play golf into his eighties.

An active and accomplished athlete himself, Ed was also a local sports super fan during his 53 years in Hanover. He supported his daughters' athletic careers and was a big fan of Dartmouth football, hockey and alpine ski racing, and Hanover High School sports, including hockey, field hockey, soccer, tennis, and lacrosse. He spent many cold winter days volunteering as a gate keeper at ski races. In later years, he enjoyed watching his grandchildren, neighbors and local athletes compete and was a regular presence on the sidelines of high school games in his trusty red jacket, donning one of his many Hanover High athletic caps. He even became an unofficial track and field scout for local youth talent for his godson, who coached at Boston College. While a sportsman at heart, Ed was genuinely interested in the lives of young people writ large, and took in many local musical, dance, and theater performances. With his gift for recounting stories, genuine enthusiasm and warm smile, Ed became part of the close circles of many young people and their families over the years.

Until three years ago, Ed lived in the home that he and Shirley lovingly built in 1969. Ed taught many neighborhood kids how to throw a baseball and football in the cul-de-sac circle he so carefully tended to year after year. Those years were filled with many gatherings of friends and neighbors as well as adventures, including a dramatic nighttime rescue by neighbors during a thunderstorm when Ed, in his eighties, found himself stuck on a ladder while cleaning the gutters. You’ll have to ask neighbors Tom and Rebecca for details – they were instructed to never tell his daughters! Dad loved his Hanover home and dearly cherished his relationships with neighbors.

Dad deeply valued his independence, and we are grateful to the kind and dedicated caregivers who formed Team Ed, became like family, and enabled him to live as independently as possible these last few years. To Claudia Simard, our team captain, Kate-lyn Covell and Lindsey Covell, there are not enough words to express our gratitude. To the friends, neighbors, and staff at The Greens, thank you for being such a wonderful community. We also extend our deepfelt thanks to Dr. Christine Medora, who helped our gladiator father through many health episodes and kept him going for over 95 years. To the hospice angels at Jack Byrne Center, thank you for shepherding our dad and us through his final days. Such a blessing. And to the many healthcare providers from DHMC and Alice Peck Day who cared for dad in recent years so he could take in more of the events that brought him such simple and rich enjoyment, thank you.

Ed was predeceased by his beloved wife of fifty years, Shirley (MacDonald) Lord, in 2005, and his sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Jean (MacDonald) and Richard Darcy. He is survived by his two daughters, Sarah Lord and Amy Lord (Karl Goetze), and his three grandchildren, who he adored, Ella, Viva, and Cyrus Goetze; his beloved nieces and nephew, Bonnie Darcy Waldman (Byron), Pam (Mike) Fiorentino, Jo-Ellen Darcy, Margaret Darcy, and Richard (Dottie) Darcy and their families. He also leaves wonderful communities of friends, neighbors, and next-to-family from the Hanover area, Ashby, and Fitchburg.

A reception to celebrate Ed’s life will be held in the Hayward Room at the Hanover Inn on Saturday, November 25th at 2 pm. To remember Ed, please support the endeavors of your local young people, try a new sport, or simply enjoy gathering with friends and neighbors to tell a few stories.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to LISTEN Community Services to support Upper Valley youth and families (www.listencs.org).

 

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