Funeral Service: Saturday, July 24 at 11:00 AM, St. Johns Lutheran Church, 1000 Helena Avenue, Helena, Montana.
Graveside Service: Craig Cemetery.
Edward (Ed) L. Sterling, 84, of Helena died peacefully in his home on July 19, 2010. Ed was born April 7, 1926 to Edythe (Veen) and Frank Sterling in Great Falls, Montana.
He was born into the fourth generation of ranchers of the Sterling Ranch Company near Craig, Montana and attended schools in Craig, Thompson Falls, and Great Falls. He enlisted in the United States Navy in 1944 and was serving in the South Pacific as a communications cryptographer, Radioman 2nd Class when he was proud to decrypt the announcement of the Japanese surrender.
After the war, Ed attended Montana State University where he met the love of his life Rosemary Kinney of Great Falls. They began their fifty eight year marriage in 1949, and were blessed with three children. After ranching with his father for the next decade, Ed continued his education at the University of Montana, Missoula, graduating with a Masters in Counseling in 1964. He served schools in Medicine Lake and Billings, retiring from Billings West High School in 1986 when he and Rosemary moved to Helena to be close to the family ranch and closer to their cabin on Placid Lake. Ed and Rosemary were faithful members of St. Johns Lutheran Church and active in Masonry. Ed was a dedicated member of the Helena Valley of the Scottish Rite and of Algeria Shrine, Helena.
Ed was preceded in death by his parents; his wife Rosemary; and brothers-in-law Charles Fredricksen of Salem, Oregon and Lonnie Gray Blackman of Craig, Montana. He is survived by his sisters Francis of Salem, Oregon and Joyce of Craig, Montana; children Clyde (Sherry) of Shoreline, Washington, Peggy (Joseph) Looney of Portland, Oregon, and Patricia (Jon) Berry of Duluth, Minnesota; seven grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
Visitation will begin on Thurs., July 22, 2010 at Anderson Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home. Masonic and Ceremony of Remembrance is Friday, July 23 at 7:00 PM, Anderson Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home, 650 N. Logan Street, Helena, Montana. Funeral Services will be held Saturday, July 24 at 11:00 AM, St. Johns Lutheran Church, 1000 Helena Avenue, Helena, Montana. Burial will be at Craig Cemetery. Memorials may be sent to Masonic Charities, Care of Algeria Shriners, 15 Jackson St., Helena, MT 59601 or to Hospice of St. Peters, 2475 Broadway, Helena MT 59601 or by visiting the web site at www.stpetes.org/html/Foundation/newdonations.php/. Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting: www.stevensonandsons.com
Service Schedule
Service Schedule
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