Edward Lovering Philbrick Sr

08/13/2004

Edward Lovering Philbrick Sr., 98, of Cobble Road, died Friday at Fairview Commons in Great Barrington, where he had resided since April. Born in Woburn on Oct. 25, 1905, son of James S. and LizzieLovering Philbrick, he graduated from Woburn High School in 1924 and from the Eastern Radio Institute in 1925. He had resided in Brewster until moving to Sheffield in 2002. A Navy veteran of World War II, he served in Bizerte, Tunisia, overseeing the repair of radio, radar and underwater sound equipment. He also was officer in charge of Radio Tunis. He was discharged in November 1945 as a chief warrant officer. Following his schooling, he had served four years in the Navy Reserve as a radioman second class. Mr. Philbrick was employed as a radio engineer with radio station WEEI in Boston, retiring in 1969. One of his assignments was co-piloting the boat that made the first contact with the Mayflower II replica as it approached Plymouth on its maiden voyage from Plymouth, England, in 1957. He also had been employed as a radio technician, and was the radio operator on merchant ships on the Great Lakes, two world cruise ships and between the Lightship Nantucket and Lightship Pollack Rip off Cape Cod. He had first been employed by Texas Co. in Houston, overseeing field units operating the first seismographs, radio, geophysical and photographic equipment locating oil deposits along the coasts of Texas and Louisiana. He was a founding and 65-year member of the Boston branch of the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers and held several radio operator licenses and amateur radio station license. He built his own radio station equipment. He also was a member of Sheffield American Legion Post 340 and enjoyed traveling cross country on his Indian motorcycle, bowling, photography, the Red Sox, camping and building sailboats and homes for himself. His wife, the former Cleora Flood, whom he married Feb. 22, 1930, died in 1983. He leaves two sons, Edward Lovering Philbrick Jr. of Brewster and Bruce Waine Philbrick of Sheffield; a daughter, Audrey Flood Philbrick Vermont of Baltimore; a brother, James Philbrick; nine grandchildren; six great-grandchildren and a great-great-granddaughter. FUNERAL NOTICE -- A private funeral for Edward L. Philbrick Sr. will be conducted in Woburn by his son-in-law, Maj. Lee Vermont, Army chaplain. In lieu of flowers, donations and expressions of sympathy in his memory may be made to the Old Parish Church Memorial Fund in care of FINNERTY AND STEVENS FUNERAL HOME, 426 Main St., Great Barrington, Ma. 01230. Ed lived in Brewster, Cape Cod, until 2002, at which time he made his home with his son, Bruce, and daughter-in-law, Mary Percy Philbrick, granddaughter, Cassandra Philbrick and grandson, Edward Ian Philbrick, news producer for CBS affiliate TV station KFVS TV-12. He was the eldest of four brothers and a sister. Not long before his father's retirement, his son Bruce introduced his parents to sports car racing and volunteering as flag and communication officials with the New England Region of the Sports Car Club of America. Ed and his wife, Cleora, traveled for over 20 years to various sports car race tracks and circuits on the East Coast, including Lime Rock Park, Road Atlanta, Watkins Glen, Bridgehampton, Sebring and Daytona. During this time, Ed maintained the communications equipment for the New England Region Sports Car Club of America and for the tracks that they visited, and was always ready with his motorcycle at the track to make a needed repair. He enjoyed telling tales of his adventures.

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Edward Lovering Philbrick Sr

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