Funeral services for Dolores resident Edward Joseph "Ed" Bieber will be held at 9 a.m. on Friday, July 12, at Dolores First Southern Baptist Church. Interment will follow in Montrose, Colo.
Ed was born Oct. 15, 1934, in Wheatland, Wyo., the son of Jacob and Agnes (Romey) Bieber. He passed away on Saturday, July 6, 2013, at Mercy Regional Medical Center in Durango at the age of 78.
Ed grew up Wheatland and the surrounding area. He then moved to Sterling, Colo. As a young man, Ed moved to Montrose, and he worked at the Climax Uranium mine before serving our country as a Marine from Nov. 21, 1956, to Nov. 20, 1959. Ed then married Mary Loucile Barnard on June 30, 1959. She passed away on Sept. 29, 1987. Ed worked in several mines in Colorado from 1959 to 1966. He then went to work for McDonnell Douglas in 1966, staying with the company until his retirement in 1996.
On Feb. 11, 1995, Ed married Sue Hovey Arbuckle in Long Beach, Calif. The couple moved to Dolores in 1997. Ed was raised in the Catholic faith but later in life attended the First Southern Baptist Church in Dolores. He loved the Lord dearly. In his free time, Ed enjoyed riding ATVs, fishing, camping and traveling.
He will be fondly remembered as a wonderful husband, father, grandfather and friend. He will be missed by everyone.
Surviving Ed are his loving wife, Sue Bieber of Dolores; his children, Kenny Bieber and wife, Cindy of Garden Grove, Calif.; Connie Storey of Long Beach, Calif.; and Deborah Bieber of San Diego, Calif.; and his stepchildren, Cheryl Beckwith of Cooperstown, N.Y.; Margaret Ellsworth and Benny Ellsworth of Lakeside, Ariz.; Rebecca Carlile and husband, Bryan of Oklahoma City, Okla., and Mark Arbuckle and wife, Christina of Bullhead City, Ariz. He also leaves behind 12 grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and his siblings, Mary McKean of Templeton, Calif.; Christina Gray of Olathe, Colo.; Joe Bieber and wife, Faye of Lochbuie, Colo.; Eleanor Kinsey and husband, Carl of Bluewater, N.M.; and Victoria Hayes of Greeley, Colo.
Ed was preceded in death by his parents, by his first wife, Mary Lou Bieber, and by his siblings, Leona Bieber, Philip Bieber, John Bieber, Louise Brown, Ben Bieber and Anthony Bieber.
Memorial contributions may be made in Edward Bieber's name to St. Jude's Research Hospital. Ed's family is also strongly encouraging the community to donate blood in Ed's honor. It is their wish that those in need will have the opportunity to receive blood in a crucial situation, as was the case for Ed.
Services are under the direction of Ertel Funeral Home. For further information or to send condolences, log on to www.ertelfuneralhome.com and click on the obituary section.
