OCEAN PARK – Edward J. Hedge, 75, died Oct. 25, 2004, in Ocean Park. He was born Nov. 11, 1928, to Fred and Carrie (Olds) Hedge in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. His father, a World War I veteran, reluctantly skipped the Veterans Day parade that day. Mr. Hedge was the youngest of three children.

He played semi-pro hockey for the Winnipeg Monarchs and regularly played against hockey greats such as Gordie Howe. Years later he amazed his daughters when he borrowed hockey skates and demonstrated his skill on the ice at the Lloyd Center Ice Arena in Portland.

He followed his father and brother into employment with the railroad. He met and married Dorothy Buchkowsky. The couple had one daughter, Linda, and were expecting another when they were transferred by the railroad to Portland in May 1954. Their daughter Lori was born one month later.

Mr. Hedge eventually became a Shell dealer, owning his own service station. He built his first new home for his family. He fulfilled a life-long ambition of becoming a farmer when he acquired a grass seed farm outside Clatskanie, Ore. He also worked as a sawyer at Clatskanie Timber Products. Every July and August he worked full-time bringing in a harvest of bent grass seed and hay. While there were lots of animals on the farm, none of them ever found their way to the dinner table. They all became his pets.

After raising his family, Hedge moved to the Long Beach Peninsula and acquired Gisler Construction. He built houses and did remodeling. While vacationing in Yuma, Ariz., at the behest of numerous friends, he bought a home there, semi-retired and began spending summers back on the peninsula. He enjoyed golf, gambling and his memberships at the Moose and Eagles Lodges.

Mr. Hedge is survived by two daughters, Linda Hedge Nihom of Ocean Park and Lori Granewich of Lake Oswego, Ore.; two grandchildren, Lauren and Brian Mitchell; a sister Margaret Campbell of Maybank, Texas and six nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother Ronald Hedge.

Cremation arrangements by Penttila’s Chapel by The Sea, Long Beach. A memorial service will be announced at a later date.

The family suggests that memorial contributions be made to any of the fund-raising activities of the Moose or Eagles Lodges or the South Pacific County Humane Society c/o Penttila’s Chapel by The Sea, PO Box 417, Long Beach, WA., 98631.