Edward A. Eklof

On the morning of Thursday, May 21st, 2020, Ed Eklof told the world “I want to rest now, you can go home,” and passed peacefully to his final rest, on his terms. The fatal event likely happened nineteen years ago, with a massive heart attack that nobody expected him to survive. He had a grandchild on the way, though, and was determined not only to meet them, but to see them learn to drive. Through stubbornness and guile, he clawed his way back to a semblance of health, and has done so, time and again, in the intervening years. Even the most ardent craftsmen must lay aside his working tools in the end, though, and so he finally did.

Ed served in the Army in peacetime, between the Korean and Vietnam wars. While it may have only been a few years, forever after, army stories were a part of his conversational repertoire. You never knew what might prompt a recollection beginning “I’ll never forget, when I was in the Army…” Stories involved his time in Texas and Germany, where he ran a club for the enlisted men, and encountered celebrities including Elvis, serving during that time. He secured an Honorable Discharge, and returned home to take up his father’s trade.

His longtime career was construction, as a master carpenter and general contractor. The state of Rhode Island is full of monuments to his work, as there were few places one could drive more than a few minutes without him being able to point to a building, and say “I built that,” often accompanied with an amusing anecdote of the construction, or a fond remembrance of his workmates on that job.

As retirement loomed, and his time between construction jobs grew, he and a posse of local curmudgeons in North Kingstown embraced the idea of citizen oversight of elected officials. They would attend meetings of various town committees to ask questions and make suggestions. While he always represented what he felt was right, this was also a social activity for him.

He was involved in Masonry through most of his adult life, having been initiated into, and becoming a Past Master of Doric Lodge No. 38 where he held a lifetime membership, before it merged with Harmony Lodge No. 9. Its some years since he received his 50 year pin. He spent many years as an advisor to Washington Chapter of the Order of DeMolay and loved helping the young people there become better adults. His work there was recognized by Washington Lodge No. 5, which made him an honorary life member as a result.

He was born in Warwick, RI, on 9 March 1935, the son of Frank Walter Eklof and Alina (Johnson) Eklof.

He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Sybil (Breault) Eklof, his daughter Ailish Eklof and son Dean Eklof and his wife Heather (Thole) Eklof, and his two grandchildren Sybil and Sonya (both of whom have their driver’s license). He also leaves his sister Emma (Eklof) Hildebrandt; brother Arthur Eklof; sister Linda (Eklof) Read and her husband Robert Read; sister-in-law Violet (Scheibe) Eklof; brother-in-law Richard Breault; and sister-in-law Dorothy (Vine) Garvey and her husband Gilchrist Garvey; along with many nieces and nephews into multiple generations.

He was predeceased by his parents, his first wife Marion (Vine) Eklof, and his brother Frank Eklof.

His funeral and burial will be private. Memorial donations in Ed's memory may be made to the Shriner's Children's Hospital or to St. Jude's Children's Hospital.