Edward Francis Prindle died at the age of 90 in Hollister. He was preceded in death by Pauline, his beloved wife of 50 years and is survived by 3 daughters, Susan Prindle of Portland, OR, Leslie Prindle-Klein of Cupertino and Janet Myers of Hollister, sons-in-law, Bill Klein and Gary Myers. He is also survived by 11 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
Ed was born in Rockwell, Iowa and moved to Chicago at the age of 8. As a boy he spent countless hours exploring every nook and cranny of the First Congregational Church on West Washington Street. He learned to love the pipe organ as he watched the renowned organist, William Lester, build a new organ. Lester would call “Buddy” whenever he was going to practice and he would rush over to the church, stand on a stool next to the organ and turn the pages of music.
He loved music and learned to play many instruments. Taking after his father, who played the piccolo in John Philip Sousa’s band, Ed played the tuba in J. Sterling Morton High School’s championship marching band, better known as Baha’s Blasting Bohemians. It was here he was recruited for The International Marimba Symphony Orchestra made up of 50 men and 50 women playing 100 marimbas. The IMSO performed in Europe, Carnegie Hall and at the Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago in the 1930’s.
He married Pauline Mae Marsh in 1943 and they moved to Canada where he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and fulfilled his dream of learning to fly. He became a flight instructor and when the U.S. joined the war, he returned to the states and flew for the Army Air Corps. He ferried cargo and airplanes all over the world and flew many harrowing missions over the Burma Hump. After the war he worked as a passenger services agent for United Airlines in Chicago, Denver and San Francisco. He then went to work for Rocky Mountain Airways in Denver, finally returning to California to begin an entirely new career – farming. He worked for R&M Ranch on Fairview Rd. in Hollister for several years before retiring.
He was a Recreation Commissioner for the city of Mountain View and later, Hollister. He volunteered for the Special Olympics and had almost 2000 hours as a volunteer at Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital.
The church and its music played a very important role in his life and he loved to sing the old hymns. He attended the First Presbyterian Church in Hollister.
He loved photography, wildflowers, birds, dogs, babies, ice hockey, mint chip ice cream, music, the harmonica, pipe organs, the marimba, woodworking, making things, teasing people, the mountains, sitting in quiet solitary places and above all, his family. He was loved by many and will be deeply missed.
A memorial service to celebrate his life will be held at the First Presbyterian Church in Hollister, 2066 Cienega Rd, on Saturday, March 1, 2008 at 2:00 P.M. Donations in his memory may be sent to Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, 911 Sunset Drive, Hollister, CA 95023.
