Ed grew up in North Hadley and was active in 4-H. He was class president of the class of 1941 Hopkins Academy. Ed was a veteran of WWII and was trained at Fort Jackson. After training he was schooled at the Citadel in S.C. and NYU. He was assigned to the 329^th Combat Engineer, 104^th Infantry “The Timberwolfs”. Deployed to Europe his outfit landed on Normandy Beach D-Day +4. Ed saw action through France and Germany including the “Battle of the Bulge.”

Upon returning home he worked at Pro Brush in Florence, where he met his future wife Ann. They were married April 4, 1949. They purchased their home in Amherst in 1955.

Ed was a linotype operator for H. I. Newell Printing for 23 years. He retired from UMass as an HVAC Technician.

Besides his wife he is survived by his son David and his partner Wayne Johnson of Provincetown, MA, his brother Charles LaSalle of Needham, MA, and his sister Lois LaSalle of Glastonbury, CT. He was predeceased by his daughter Linda.

The family would like to offer special thanks to Leslie Crouse and Ronald Holcomb for their continued care and support.

Calling hours will be Sunday, Dec. 22, from 2-4 p.m. at the Douglass Funeral Service, Amherst with a reception to follow. Burial with full military honors will take place in the spring in North Hadley Cemetery. Obituary and memorial register at www.douglassfuneral.com.

Service details, Social networking, Memorial Guestbook and Slideshow are available here.