Edwin Muderlak

EDWIN MUDERLAK, 69 ATTORNEY, CPA AND AUTHOR DURAND - Attorney Edwin D. Muderlak, 69, of Durand passed away Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2010, after a final brief battle with cancer. Born Dec. 24, 1940, in Chicago, the son of Edwin Muderlak Sr. and Bernice (Thomsen) Muderlak. After graduating from Lane Tech High School in Chicago, he served in the Navy. Ed attended the University of California-Berkeley and Northern Illinois University, and became a CPA in 1966. Married Nancy Keel in 1965 in Chicago. Ed graduated from Northwestern University Law School in 1971, and after passing the bar exam that summer, bought a 26' sailboat and lived aboard for a year with his wife, Nancy, and daughter traveling down the Mississippi River through Florida, the Bahamas and up the East Coast. Upon his return in 1972, he became assistant city attorney for Rockford, and entered into private law practice from 1974 to 1981. During this time, the family moved to Durand and began to farm. Ed began to study the finer points of raising registered Black Angus cattle and explored the science of good farmland management. His urge to travel struck again in 1981, and he took his wife, Nancy, and two children for a two-year sailing adventure living aboard a 43' sailboat. Their journey took them more than 25,000 miles as they circumnavigated the Atlantic Ocean and traveled throughout the Caribbean and Bahamas. Ed became a full-time farmer in 1983, managing the farm six months and living on a sailboat for the other six months with Nancy from 1991 to 2008. They traveled extensively exploring most of the Caribbean Islands, Bahamas and the north coast of Venezuela. During these years, Ed also became an accomplished author and wrote numerous articles for sporting magazines. His first book, "Parker Guns-The Old Reliable" was published in 1998. His other titles include, "When Ducks Were Plenty," "Knight of the Trigger" and "Shooting Flying-The American Experience." In 2008, the sailboat was traded in for a "land-yacht," and Ed and Nancy traveled all over the U.S., exploring 46 of the 50 states. Ed was consummate sportsman and enjoyed the water as much as the land. He built his first runabout when he was 15, racing from 1955 to 1973 and breaking a world speed record in 1973. He loved bow-hunting, bird hunting, shooting trap, and in later years developed a love of fly fishing as his and Nancy's travels ranged west to Montana and the wilds of Alaska. Survivors include his wife of 45 years, Nancy (Keel) Muderlak; daughter, Sandra (Jay Johnson) Muderlak, and son, Ed (Rebecca) Muderlak, both of Nokesville, Va.; grandchildren, Sarah, Cole and Caitlin Johnson and Andrew Morris; brother, Kenneth (Carol) Muderlak of Milwaukee; sister, Janet (Jeff Neroy) Muderlak of Arizona; and three nephews. Predeceased by granddaughter, Alexandra. A celebration of Ed's life will be scheduled for April 2011 in Rockford. Notification of the date and time of the memorial service will be posted in the paper in Spring 2011. Cremation rites were accorded. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the Northern Illinois Hospice and Grief Center, 4215 Newburg Road, Rockford, IL 61108. McCorkle Funeral Home, 101 Main St., assisted the family. To send condolences online, visit mccorkle funeralhome.com.