Edward entered the world on the morning of September 12, 1936 in Pampa-Jarrett Hospital, the first born of four children, to his parents, Edward and Gertrude Culberson.
He attended grade school at B. M. Baker and Junior High at the “yellow brick” school on the downtown corner of Cuyler and Francis streets, and graduated from “Dear Old Pampa High” in June of 1955. Then in December of 1955, he wed the former Norita Lynn Sasser. They were married for 23 years until her untimely death in July of 1978.
Edward worked for the next few years at Celanese in Pampa, and as a traffic policeman in Lubbock. During this period they were blessed with their first son, Edward M. the 3rd. better known as Buster. While in Lubbock they determined that he should join the United States Navy, so on 21 April of 1959, they entered the service of our country. During the next 17 or so years, Edward attended Navy Basic Electronics School in Treasure Island, California, served at the Naval Air Station, Point Mugu, California where he was advanced to 3rd Class Petty Officer. From there, he was transferred to the USS Norton Sound, AVM-1 in Port Huenueme, California. Nine months later their second son, Jeffery was born. Edward was transferred to the Naval Communication Station, Adak, Alaska, and Norita went back to Pampa for the duration. During this tour, Edward was advanced to 2nd Class Petty Officer, and reenlisted for the Navy’s advanced electronic school. This resulted in a transfer to the Service Schools Command, TI, San Francisco, California, where Norita and boys rejoined him. While there, he was advanced to 1st Class Petty Officer. Upon graduation, they were transferred to the Service Schools Command at Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Waukegan, Illinois, where Edward served as an instructor in the Navy’s Basic Electronic schools. While ther their third son, Brian, was born in the Great Lakes Naval Hospital. He was also advanced to Chief Petty Officer, E7 and shortly thereafter, selected for the Navy’s newly reinstated Warrant Officer program.
Edward attended both the Navy’s Officer Candidate School for Warrant Officers and also the Communication Officer School in Newport, Rhode Island, while Norita and boys remained at Great Lakes.
After Rhode Island, he spent the next two years at the Naval Communication Station in Keflevic, Iceland, but before Norita,and the boys came to be with him, their first and only daughter, Lisa, was born in Pampa Highland General Hospital. Actually, with the exception of Brian, all their children were born in The Highland General Hospital in Pampa.
After Iceland, Edward was transferred to the USS Isle Royale, AD-29, in Long Beach, California. This two year tour was cut short by 12 months when they were transferred to the Naval Communication Station, Hawaii. During this tour, he was advanced to Commissioned Warrant officer, W-2.
After 4 years in Hawaii, Edward received orders to the USS Ogden, LPD-5 in San Diego, California. After almost two years aboard the USS Ogden, he was transferred to the U S. Navy Service Schools Command, San Diego for humanitarian shore duty. It was at this time that Norita passed away. After a period of time, he became reacquainted with Marlene Rice (Kolb), who was also a Class of 1955 graduate, to whom he married. A year later a son, Noah (his fourth and Marlene’s fifth child), was born in Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego in April of 1979.
A short time later, the Navy offered Edward a billet at the Naval Communication Station, Philippines as both the Operations Officer and also Command Electronics Materiel Officer. It was here he was advanced to Commissioned Warrant Officer, W-4
After two years in the Philippines, Marlene and Edward determined it would be better for Noah if he retired from the service, so in August, 1981, after 22 years of Navy Life, they became civilians.
The change from Navy Life to Civilian Life lead them to their first civilian duty station, Beckman Instruments, in Porterville, California, where Edward worked as a manufacturing Engineer.
After three years, he accepted an engineering position with General Dynamics, in Pomona, California. During this time, Marlene and Noah remained in Porterville while he was busy attending National University, a private school in Southern California. Upon his graduation, Magna Cum Laude in Business Administration, Marlene and Noah joined him in Running Springs, California.
After eight years with General Dynamics, Hughes Electronics purchased the General Dynamics military product lines. These lines consisted of the Tomahawk, Stinger, Rolling Airframe and the Standard Missile systems as well as the Phalanx Close In Weapon System. These were all moved to the Hughes facility in Tucson, Arizona where about 2000 out of 11,000 General Dynamic engineers were asked to transfer. Two years later, the Raytheon Company purchased what had become the Hughes Missile Systems Company.
During their time in Tucson, the Lord determined that it was time to take Marlene home. She passed away suddenly, very unexpectedly, on Memorial Day, 2005. God doesn’t desert His children and He introduced Jeri Archer Lloyd to Edward at the 50th reunion of the “Greatest Class Alive, The Class of 1955”. Jeri and Edward developed a wonderful relationship and they were married on 10 December, 2005. Edward refers to Jeri as his “greatest joy”.
Edward worked in Tucson from April of 1994 until his retirement from Raytheon in April, 2006. He says that “I am actually into my third career and loving every moment of it.” Jeri and Edward reside in Sugar Land, Texas.