Edwin Deckard Obituary

Edwin Deckard

October 22, 1917 – February 1, 2016

Raleigh

Ed Deckard, 98, lifelong bureaucrat full of wit, a care-giving husband, father and grandfather and a natural farmer and fisherman, died Feb. 1, 2016, in Huntington Beach, Calif.

With Midwest farmer roots, he dedicated his life to growing others professionally and personally.

After decades of service with the federal government in Washington, D.C., Ed used his skills and contacts to aid governors and states throughout the U.S.

Retiring from his post with the Executive Office of the President handling management analysis for the Office of Management and Budget in 1973, Ed moved to Raleigh, N.C., where he helped then-Governor James Holshouser establish the Department of Intergovernmental Relations.

From 1974-1977, he was the director of the Office of Intergovernmental Relations for the state of North Carolina. He coordinated federal grant activity for state government, administered the statewide HUD-701 Program, served as the Governor's alternate on Appalachian Regional Commission and Coastal Plains Regional Commission and was a member of the Governor's Policy Council.

The governor named him to the prestigious Order of the Long Leaf Pine Society, joining famous North Carolinians from Michael Jordan to Andy Griffith. Other governors were just as appreciative of his skills. Plaques and honors because of his work advocating for federal aid and development include Kentucky Colonel, Aide-de-Camp in the Georgia Militia and honorary citizen of South Dakota.

From 1971-73, he was regional representative for the Office of Management and Budget, coordinating federal programs in six states, including Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota and North Dakota.

Born in Lyons, Ind., to Ezra and Malinda Deckard, one of seven raised on a farm in Washington Township/Greene County, he never lost his love of farming, harvesting vegetables and f lowers everywhere he lived, from a half-acre "garden" in Annandale, Va., to a large patch of rich North Carolina soil in Will-O-Dean Circle to a strip of dirt around his daughter's backyard pool in California.

He began his career working for the federal government as a management analyst in the field, moving to Washington, D.C., after World War II. He climbed the ranks quickly and by 1963 was a management analyst for the Executive Office of the President – Bureau of the Budget. He was paid $16,005 that year. He was firmly in the Middle Class living the American Dream but applying lessons learned during the Great Depression.

He never tired of telling his children he bought the family's two-acre homestead in Annandale, Va., a suburb of Washington, D.C., for $5,000 in 1948. He saw the economy grow exponentially from his perch at the Bureau of the Budget, but never lost his budget-conscious ways. Many family stories revolve around his appreciation of the value of a dime.

He attended Indiana University, receiving his degree in political science, then studied at the University of Cincinnati where he earned his master's in public administration. He was the recipient of a City Management Fellowship.

While in Cincinnati, he married the late Martha Ellen Curts, travelling across the river to Covington, Ky., for a simple ceremony. He reported for active duty with the United States Navy on June 14, 1943, serving during World War II.

He graduated from Navy Supply Corps School as an Ensign on June 28, 1944. He was discharged in 1946 and named a Lieutenant in the Naval Reserve in 1949.

Ed and Martha raised four children — Donna Welch of Sevenoaks, England; Linda Deckard of Huntington Beach, Calif.; the late Nancy Barbour of Raleigh, N.C.; and Carl Deckard of Hillsborough, N.C. They also raised their grandson, Billy Kidd of Raleigh, N.C.

In 1981, Ed married Anne Quinn Boyd and the two continued living in North Carolina until they opted to spend their final Golden Years in a vacation paradise, moving to California in 2011. He joined the Catholic Church in 1988, and was baptized in the Church of Christ in Lyons, Ind., in 1929.

He was also founder and President of Management Applications, Inc., Research Triangle Park, N.C., from 1981-87, when he sold the firm. It was a management consulting and software company

Community activities in his early career included president of Fairfax County-Falls Church (Va.) YMCA; president of the Fairfax County Health and Welfare Council, and president of the Annandale Elementary School PTA.

He was an associate professional lecturer with George Washington University through the Sixties and Seventies teaching Advanced Administrative Management, Staff Functions in Government and Behavioral Science. He was a past vice president of the Society for Personnel Administration.

Survivors include his wife, Anne; children Donna, Linda and Carl; and grandson, Bill.

A memorial service will be held at Prairie Chapel United Methodist Church, Lyons, Ind., at 1 p.m. Feb. 12, followed by burial at Prairie Chapel Cemetery where he joins Ezra, Malinda, Thelma and Maxine Deckard.

In lieu of flowers, he requested donations to a Catholic charity of your choice in California or North Carolina. www.cremationsocietync.com

Published by The News & Observer on Feb. 7, 2016.
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I’d like to send my condolences to the family of Mr. Deckard. I grew up with Nancy his daughter and never knew just how important her father was to our country. I remember most the goose berrys he grew and vegetables were always abundant. I considered myself part of the family. Thank you.

Kathryn Judson Jackson

Neighbor

September 13, 2020

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Funeral services provided by:

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