Edward Walter Hamren

1920 - 2008

Edward Walter Hamren, 88, of Troutville, went to be with the Lord Wednesday morning, December 10, 2008. He died peacefully in his sleep at a Salem nursing home. He was born at home in Wright, Minn., the youngest of six children, March 11, 1920, to C. John and Christina W. (Andersson) Hamren. His parents had emigrated from Sweden in 1902 with Ed's oldest sister, Ruth, an infant at the time. They first settled in Minneapolis, Minn., where Ed's father first worked in a box factory, and then for the railroad. They moved by train north to Wright, Minn., in 1919, and Ed was born the following spring. Ed graduated from Cromwell (Minnesota) High School and then Macalester College (Minneapolis) in 1941. He served in the Navy from 1942 to 1946 as a radio technician. He married Sybil Christine Johnson in Lake Wilson, Minn., on June 6, 1948. Their first three summers were spent in Boulder, Colo., where Ed obtained his master's at the University of Colorado. He taught science and math in Lake Wilson, Minn., then they moved to Ceylon, Minn., where Ed was the school principal. They moved to North Branch, Minn., in 1958, where Ed served as the superintendent of schools from 1958 to 1971, and where he and Sybil raised their seven children. He sold health products and worked for a map company for several years before moving to Greensboro, N.C., in 1983. In 2004, Ed and Sybil moved to the home of their son and daughter-in-law, Dane and Patrice Hamren, in Troutville, Va., in order to help Ed care for his wife who was suffering from Alzheimer's. He took Sybil out for lunch everyday, and could be seen at various restaurants around Daleville and its outskirts. Ed suffered a stroke in July of this year, and had been under professional care since August. Sybil now resides at Friendship Manor. Ed loved watching the Twins baseball games, and was a master at crossword and Sudoku puzzles. Ed was preceded in death by his parents and his siblings, Ruth Fogelberg Beck, Edith Carlson, Esther Dorman, Harry Hamren, and Gerda Truax; and by son Craig John Hamren. He is survived by his wife, Sybil Johnson Hamren, of Roanoke, Va.; sons, Dane (Pat), of Troutville, Va., Blair (Darlene), of West Liberty, Ohio, and Judd (Tonya), of Raleigh, N.C.; daughters, Claudia (Al) Hulbert, of Bend, Ore., Marina (John) Greenwood, of Kittrell, N.C., and Erica Ellis, of Greensboro, N.C.; 24 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren. Friends are welcome to a gathering at Rader Funeral Home, 630 Roanoke Road, Daleville, on Tuesday evening, December 16, from 6 to 8 p.m. Memorial service at Faith Alliance Church, 7505 Barrens Road, Roanoke, Va. 24019, 540-366-1864, 1 p.m. Wednesday, December 17, 2008.