Richard “Dick” Edlund

Richard “Dick” Edlund, 92, of Seneca, SC passed from this life on August 27, 2023. He was the beloved husband of 67 years of Marlene Laite Edlund.

 

Born December 16, 1931, in Hartford, CT, he was the son of the late Herbert and Ann Edlund. He attended Hartford High School where he learned Latin. As a child, he delivered newspapers on a bike, listened to radio shows, and spent memorable time in the Summer at Point O’Woods, CT, with his nearby grandparents. He also spent happy days with “Uncle Eddie,” and “Aunt Sis” in Florida, during the Great Depression. He loved Pall Malls, licorice, and often had a stash of candy at home that he carefully rationed.

 

He bravely served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War, as a front pilot assigned to mark targets. While in Korea, he also enjoyed teaching softball to the Australian and British Army Forces. He married Marlene, whom he met in a Georgia church, on October 16, 1955, and together, they raised a family. He worked at Hartford Hospital for 30 years, retiring as Vice President of Data Systems. He was active in the hospital duckpin bowling league. He was most proud of serving as the impetus for the construction of a free-standing data systems center for the hospital. It served as a role model for other hospitals, and from that base, he created many IT jobs. He had a reputation for “stealing nurses” to work in this data systems field, which we now call informatics! He was grateful to have become a military pilot and imparted life’s hard lessons from that training to others. Most importantly, he learned to know when it was time to stop betting or flying, or rather, to know when it was time to exit a place or situation.

 

His greatest enjoyment came from sharing stock market tips, singing Engelbert Humperdinck, planting, or pruning tress anywhere he could lend a hand, and watching television shows such as Mash, Hogan’s Heroes, Wall Street Week, and 60 Minutes. He was an avid fan of the Cleveland Browns, New York Yankees, Hartford Whalers, and UConn women’s basketball. Besides his wife, he leaves two children, Ann Edlund of Charleston, SC, and Karyn Jean “KJ” Daguerre and her husband Fernando, of Chapel Hill, NC, and their children, his two grandchildren, Anna Monique, and John Felix Daguerre. He leaves behind accomplished nieces and nephews; among them, Peter Edlund, a highly regarded NY artist. He was pre-deceased by Ricky Edlund [1956-1963], his son, as well as his brother, Robert Edlund. Paulina, Marvelita, and Maria, prior foreign exchange students he hosted, also remember him.

 

A brief funeral with taps will be held November 8, 2023, @ 10:30 am-11:00 am at Saint Mark United Methodist Church in Seneca, SC during Veteran’s Week with a livestream link.

 

In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory, though not necessary, may be directed to the following: Help Hawaiians: https://www.kaainamomona.org/maui, Collins Childrens Home, PO Box 745 Seneca, SC, 29679, https://www.collinschildrenshome.org/or the Oconee Human Society, PO Box 966, West Union, SC 29696. Condolences may be expressed online by visiting www.sandiferfuneralhome.com.

 

SANDIFER FUNERAL HOME IS ASSISTING THE EDLUND FAMILY