"If you're alone when autumn falls,
       you'll be alone all winter long."
          from "Another Autumn" (one of Ed's many favorites),
         featured in Paint Your Wagon

By Howie Levy

If I had to write a brief epitaph for Ed Chilton's headstone, it would be simply, "He was a one-of-a-kind."

Eddie was a loyal friend, a genuine "Renaissance man" and something of a folk philosopher. He had  an incredible memory for details and a remarkable sense of humor with a quick wit. Ed was truly a rare intellect, a competent professional in both psychology and human factors (also called ergonomics) engineering, a fine arts aficionado (especially for poetry and music), a skilled trumpet player, a photographer, and a talented, creative and colorful writer. He was remarkably multi-talented and bright, a

voracious reader and a lifelong patron  of public libraries, an expert on American history, and an amateur historian and genealogist. Ed was highly principled, a champion of civil rights and firmly committed to his well developed political beliefs. And he was a humanitarian.

Ed Chilton cared deeply about others. According to his lifelong friend and our classmate, Jay Katz:

"Ed was a remarkably talented and generous human being who thought to provide for and protect his fellow beings, often to his own personal detriment. That's how important justice was to him."

Ed frequently posted book reviews on Amazon.com and communicated directly with authors whose work he admired or critiqued. He was a fan of a weekly online blog of classified "metaphorical" quotations assembled by Dr. Mardy Grothe, an "opinion influencer" and a retired psychologist, with whom Eddie frequently exchanged e-mails and who he considered a friend. Upon learning of Eddie's passing, Dr. Mardy wrote, "I thoroughly enjoyed our correspondence over the years, and will miss his periodic messages."  

Ed loved the time he spent growing up in Oceanside and was an early and frequent contributor to this website, both in terms of technological advice and content, the latter mostly from his vast collection of photographs, and one of its biggest fans. According to his sister, Margaret Chilton, OHS '65  (known as Peg in school, now known as Maggie), "Ed was proud and passionate about that alumni website." 

The music music you should be hearing when you open this page was recorded by our OHS orchestra, conducted by Segal, at a concert in February 1960 and features Ed (among others) on trumpet. (The same selection ¾ from the Broadway show, Gigi ¾ was also played at our graduation,)

Here's a selection of photos in reasonably chronological order from Ed's childhood, adolescence and  beyond, taken from his extensive collection ¾ and Maggie's. (Notice, Ed liked to put captions on his photos.)

    The whole family, Mom,
    Dad, Eddie and Maggie

      Two more from 1957:                                                                  And a Newsday photo of a breakfast gathering of its carriers
      Ed's room                                                                                    (Ed was one of them.)                

Some of Ed's early vehicular transportation (Maggie says he had a lead foot!)

Ed moved to Canada in 1968 after his first divorce  followed by a call from the draft board. Sister, Maggie, explains:

"Ed had a marital deferment from the draft (he called it being a "Kennedy husband"). Three days after his first divorce was final, he received the notice from the draft board and moved to Canada, rather than allow the U. S. Government to shove a gun into his hand. As a fugitive, he was unable to attend my wedding in 1970 or my father's funeral in 1972."

"[A friend] was killed during the Christmas 1965 'bombing halt-peace offensive.' He was a Warrant Officer helicopter pilot. His death was a shock to me. ... I also followed closely the pathetic court-martial of Lt. Howard Levy, M.D.** (Click here for an extensive, scholarly analysis of the case.) I knew I could not take Vietnamese life for this terrible political mistake but hoped against hope I would not have to face a 'decision.' My order to report for induction came in the wake of Tet and the awful assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. I felt my country then was the equivalent of 'rabid' - it had gone berserk - and I was not about to let it put me in jail for opposition to its mistaken politics, as it did Dr. Howard Levy. On 12 May 1968, I entered Canada. ... So have I spent much of my life. ... my actions infuriated several of my family members."

_______________
** Note that I am NOT the Howard Levy who was court-martialed in 1967 and mentioned in Ed's letter, above.

Eventually frustrated by the Canadian bureaucracy, around 2002, and as a result of a court decision, no longer under threat of arrest for draft evasion, Ed finally ended his long career mostly as a psychologist in the employ of a government agency and after several false starts, around 2002, he returned permanently to the U.S. He settled in eastern Michigan where he spent his last years.

Ed's Failing Health

Beginning in 2011, before he became physically unable to do strenuous work, Ed devoted much of his time in Michigan as a lone volunteer effectively "rescuing" old gravestones in abandoned cemeteries that had become overgrown and displaced over time. During that time, Ed maintained a personal website (no longer available), sort of a "blog" that chronicled this unusual activity and contained other information about Ed's varied interests and thoughts (and his failing health and other unfortunate conditions) and some selected poetry. As of this writing, a portion of Ed's site is still accessible online although his last post was dated February 13, 2014. That entry referred readers to information placed the same date by Ed on the widely used public research site, www.findagrave.com, excerpts from which follow:

"In 2011, after snow melted, I toured local cemeteries, found them full of winter debris, and began their volunteer cleaning. As I did so, I began to notice the pathetic condition of 19th and early 20th century grave sites and grave markers. Clearly, many needed rescue and maintenance due to natural forces and time, or damage caused by vandals or neglect by cemetery personnel. ...
      
"Across the past three years I have rescued roughly 300 grave sites and markers ... . As I conducted this heavy outdoor work my age went from 68 to 69 to 70. When I recently turned age 71 my medical condition took a nose dive. I am doctoring for diabetes and multiple heart conditions. ... I will not be able to continue grave rescue activity or volunteer cleaning this year. My efforts will be limited to photographic activity, and my common advocacy as a 'Speaker For the Dead'."

Sadly, like the song from Paint Your Wagon says at the top of this page, Ed was often alone when autumn fell in Michigan, and there he endured many a long, cold and lonely winter. During that time, he suffered increasingly from multiple ailments, principally diabetes and congestive heart failure.  After several hospitalizations for episodes related to the latter condition, in January 2015, his doctor declared that he could no longer live alone, and he was placed on hospice care in a skilled nursing facility. 

*  *  *  *  *

One of Ed's closest friends from high school, Dave Cooper, shares with us the following thoughts about him:

"My fondest memories are from the years, 1958-'60, with Ed and Dennis Deegan having fun at school and hanging out at the beach together during the summer. They really were pivotal moments in my life! Long  after we drifted apart during our college years, Ed tracked me down, and it was like no time had passed. R.I.P., old friend."

Another high school friend, Bill Schrader, wrote:

“Ed was the one who kept us in touch with our past and the present in Oceanside. He wrote some great commentaries about old photos; goodness only knows how he managed to find them after all these years! I wish him and his family peace from a distant ex-OHS Sailor.”

Many thanks to Maggie Chilton for her help with this page.

Come back to this special memorial page now and then when you are thinking of Ed or to see if anything has been added. And if you would like to add anything about Ed, please write me.

Classmates and other visitors are invited to submit material for a special
memorial page like this for any other departed classmate. Just e-mail it to me.

      Howie

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