Edward Clayton Plank

Edward Clayton Plank was born and raised in the small town of Preble, NY on July 12, 1942 to

Preston and Carrie (Knapp) Plank. He was the second of three children and the only boy. Known

as Eddie as a child, he grew up in a family that valued community. His father was a volunteer

fireman and both his parents supported activities at the Preble Congregationalist Church. Ed

grew up enjoying school, athletics, and hunting. Typical of the era, he learned woodshop and

basic electrical skills as part of his high school curriculum.

After high school, he took a job with a bank in nearby Syracuse and was put to work

programming then-new mainframe computers. This was the beginning of a nearly 50-year career

in computer programming and systems analysis. One outcome of this occupation is that HE

PRINTED ALL HIS HANDWRITTEN NOTES IN ALL CAPS. He'd only use cursive to sign

his name.

Ed enlisted in the Air Force in 1964 and soon found himself stationed at Bolling AFB in

Maryland. While he was there, he met Doris Parton through a young adults group at the

Presbyterian church in Arlington, VA. In early 1966 he shipped out to Misawa, Japan where he

spent the remainder of his service - and exchanged a lot of letters with Doris. He would always

acknowledge that he was extremely lucky to have been stationed in Japan when many American

men his age were experiencing terrible fighting in Vietnam. During that time, he became a blood

donor. In his 60s, Ed re-committed to this valuable action, going to American Red Cross every few

months. It was while he was in Misawa that he took up two new hobbies that he would continue

to enjoy for many years: photography and archery.

After leaving the service, he and Doris married at the Arlington Presbyterian Church on August

2, 1969. The couple then moved to Syracuse, NY and he went to work at Mutual of New York.

After two winters that included record-breaking snowfall, they returned to northern Virginia. Ed

went to work as a contractor supporting government agencies.

In 1974, Ed and Doris welcomed their first child, Heather, and in 1980, their son, Justin. Ed

eventually left contracting and went to work for WorldCom, which became WorldCom-MCI,

which became MCI, which became Verizon, and Ed had all the free t-shirts to prove it.

During the early years of family life, he was the documentarian with the camera and the film

recorder. He was one of the early members serving on the Burke Centre neighborhood board. He

helped with Boy Scout activities with Justin and taught photography and woodworking classes

with the 4-H club Heather belonged to. Later he would serve as a parent volunteer at Robinson

High School's theatre program helping his daughter and her friends with set construction. Justin

loved sports, and he and Ed spent countless hours playing catch. Wherever the family traveled,

they were sure to pack Justin's old bat bag, which carried their baseball gloves and a collection of

baseballs and footballs.

The handyman skills he learned in high school continued to serve him in the many home

maintenance tasks he undertook at home and in the service of his parents, mother-in-law,

children, and neighbors.

Ed ultimately retired at the end of December 2015. In retirement he enjoyed reading, yardwork

and gardening, watching sports, chatting with neighbors while walking the family dog, and

periodically meeting up with old friends from work for lunch.

Ed passed away on November 24, 2025. Doris, Heather, and Justin were by his side.

Ed was preceded in death by his parents and his older sister Mary. He is survived by his sister

Ruth, wife Doris, two children, and numerous nephews and nieces.

In lieu of flowers, the family invites you to consider making a donation to American Red Cross,

Habitat for Humanity, Wounded Warriors, or a charity of your choice.