Edward Wickham Tice, Jr.

Edward Wickham Tice, Jr. passed away peacefully on May 27, 2016, in Vancouver, Washington, surrounded by family and friends. A memorial mass will be held Wednesday, August 17, 2016, 10:00 AM at St. Joseph's Catholic Church, 400 S. Andresen Road, Vancouver, WA. Inurnment and military service will follow at exactly 1:00 PM at Willamette National Cemetery, 11800 S.E. Mt. Scott Blvd., Portland, Oregon. Edward "Ed" Tice was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania on June 13, 1926 to Edward Wickham Tice and Maude Diehl Tice. He attended Allentown High School and at the age of 17 enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, serving from 1943 to 1946 and again from 1951 to 1952. He saw duty in the Pacific Theatre at Guam, participated in the battle of Iwo Jima and the Occupation of Japan. He was a proud member of the First Marine Division and Fifth Marine Division Association. He married Stella Zukowski in1948 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. During the next few years their first son Gregory was born and the young family relocated to San Diego, California in 1951. After his honorable discharge from the service, Ed went to work for the Convair Division of General Dynamics in Ontario, California. While at Convair, he worked on a team developing test equipment for the Terrier Missile Program and was the Electrical Engineer responsible for service of the Datatron Digital Computer. In 1958, Ed accepted a position at Lockheed Missiles and Space Company in Sunnyvale, California and moved his growing family (which now included son Michael and daughter Elizabeth) to San Jose, California. Daughters Carolyn and Patricia were born early in his career at Lockheed, where he developed hardware and test software for the Polaris Missile program. While working on the Polaris program, Ed transitioned to a management role and subsequently became involved in programs at Lockheed and with future employers including Itek and Ford Aerospace. A highlight of his career was working on the Corona photoreconnaissance program from its inception until 1974. Ed and Stella enjoyed their travels to Europe and the Middle East while he was on assignment. They relocated to Egypt in the early 1980s and while there, particularly enjoyed visiting Germany, Rome, Jerusalem and the Pyramids of Egypt. Upon returning to the States, and after his retirement, Ed and Stella moved to Beaverton, Oregon to be closer to daughter Patricia and her young family. He enjoyed fishing, exploring the Northwest, visits from his children and grandchildren, road trips to Lincoln City and nearby attractions. He was a member of St. Joseph's Catholic Church and until recently was an active member of the local Fifth Marine Division Association. Ed is survived by his wife of 67 years, Stella, sons Gregory (Deborah) of Santa Barbara, California and Michael (Jenifer) of Fremont, California, daughters Elizabeth (Mark) of San Jose, California, Carolyn (Jim) of Battle Ground, Washington and Patricia of Beaverton, Oregon, as well as seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. He will be dearly missed. Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to Paralyzed Veterans of America at www.pva.org.

Edward Wickham Tice, Jr.

June 13, 1926 - May 27, 2016