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Welcome to the memorial page for
Edwin Champagne
June 7, 1935 ~ November 13, 2017 (age 82) 82 Years OldShare using:
Dr. Edwin Bernard Champagne a loving husband, father and grandfather, formally of Kettering, Ohio, passed away on November 13, 2017 at 10:30pm at the Hearth at Juday Creek, an assisted living facility, in Granger, IN, where he and his wife had recently moved to be near their daughter. His family had been with him over the past several days, and his son, David, was at his side. Edwin was born June 7, 1935 in a farmhouse in Barton City, Michigan to Bernard and Marie (VonFintel) Champagne.
While in Dayton, OH as a second lieutenant in the Air Force and living in an apartment, Ed met and fell in love with a neighbor, a schoolteacher, Betty Davisson. The second lieutenant and the schoolteacher were married in Ironton, Ohio on September 3, 1960. Their love, devotion and marriage spanned 57 years, 3 children and 6 grandchildren. They lived in Huber Heights, OH, Ann Arbor, MI and finally settled in Kettering, Ohio where they spent over 40 years. They travelled extensively during Ed’s career but especially after his retirement. They spent time in Australia, France, Palm Springs, CA, and Florida, among others, but their favorite destinations were always wherever their children and grandchildren were. They never said no to an invitation to visit or vacation anywhere with their children. As his children married and moved around and outside the country, they always gathered for Thanksgiving and over the last several years, Ed and Betty generously rented houses centrally located where they could all be together. He was always happiest when his entire family was near and they will be left to cherish those many happy memories.
Besides his family, Edwin’s passion was learning. He started his career in a one-room schoolhouse adjacent to the family farm in Barton City. While there he skipped second grade and, according to family lore, when he got bored, he simply walked home much to his parent’s chagrin. He graduated from Harrisville, High School in 1952 and enrolled at Michigan State University on a ROTC scholarship to study Agriculture. However, during a break at home working on the farm, he realized he did not want to be a farmer and quickly changed his major to Electrical Engineering. Upon graduation, he accepted a job with the Hughes Aircraft
Company in Los Angeles, CA and loaded up his Austin Heely for the trip across the country. While working at Hughes he completed his Masters in Electrical Engineering at the University of Southern California in 1958. After that he was inducted into the Air Force and served his military requirement in Dayton, Ohio at Wright Patterson AFB. He immediately began work on his PhD in Electrical Engineering and graduated from Ohio State University in 1967. His dissertation was titled A Qualitative and Quantitative Study of Holographic Imaging. He was one of the leading pioneer’s in this new field of study.
Ed was always a true scientist. His career started in the Aeronautical Systems Division of the Air Force at Wright Patterson AFB where he first worked as an officer in the Air Force and upon his honorable discharge, as a civilian. After a 6-year break in private industry and working for the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI, he returned to Wright Patterson AFB in 1973. Ed took on ever more challenging and demanding roles and finally retired as the civilian equivalent of a General in the Air Force in November of 1995. At that time he was Chief Scientist of the Solid State Electronics lab. Ed received several patents during his career and worked on many advanced and classified systems for the defense of our country.
Ed is survived by his loving wife of 57 years, Betty, three children, Cathy (Ty) Scopel of Granger, IN, David (Linda) Champagne of New Bremen, OH, and Jeffry (Jodi) Champagne of Colorado Springs, Co and 6 Grandchildren, Holly Champagne, Emma Champagne, Sara Champagne, Carly Scopel, Jackson Champagne and Mia Champagne, two brothers, Richard (Karen) and Roy Champagne both of Michigan, a brother-in-law Jack Gill of Connecticut and various cousins, nieces and nephews. Both his parents preceded him in death.
Ed fought a courageous battle with Parkinson’s for many years that lead to his pneumonia earlier this past spring that weakened his system to the point he was not able to recover. His family will miss his wisdom, guidance and steady hand every day. We want to thank the Nurses and staff at Juday Creek Assisted Living in Granger, IN and Heart-to-Heart Hospice of Indiana for their devoted, loving care of Ed. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to a hospice organization of your choice.
Per Ed’s final wishes, he will be cremated. Palmer Funeral Homes of South Bend are handling the cremation. A graveside service with full military honors will be held at 1:00pm on Wednesday, November 22, 2017 at the Dayton National Cemetery, 4400 W. Third Street, Dayton, OH 45428.
Online condolences may be left for the Champagne family at www.palmerfuneralhomes.com.
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