BOARDMAN — Edison G. Lugibihl, 97, formerly of Hitchcock Road in Boardman, passed away peacefully Sunday, May 2, 2021, at St. Elizabeth Boardman Hospital.
Edison, known by his family and friends as “Ed,” was born April 25, 1924, in Pandora, the son of the late Orrie and Lydia Badertscher Lugibihl.
He graduated from Pandora High School in 1942. Edison served in the U.S. Army during World War II.
Following the war, Edison received his bachelor’s degree in education from Bluffton College. He moved to Boardman in 1950 and continued his education, receiving his master’s degree in education and principal certificate at Kent State University.
Edison taught geography at Boardman Junior High and then was an assistant principal at Boardman Junior High School, and later became the principal at Boardman Center Middle School from 1969 to 1991. He served as an educator in the Boardman Local School system for more than 40 years.
He attended Boardman United Methodist Church and was active there for 60-plus years, participating in many activities of the church.
Edison was a recipient of the Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow Award, a Boardman School Hall of Fame inductee, and served as the treasurer of the two-year effort to build a new auditorium at Boardman High School under the banner of Auditorium 2000. He was a 40-year member of the Phi Delta Kappa educational fraternity. In 1957, he helped to organize the Boardman Local Schools Employees Credit Union, serving as the treasurer, while his wife served as manager. In 1992, the credit union merged with the Associated School Employees Credit Union, where he remained on the board of directors until his death. He was an assistant coach under head coach Jerry Thorpe for the 1960 Boardman High School football team that posted an unbeaten 9-0 record. He retired June of 1991 as principal of Boardman Center Middle School, a position held from 1969 to 1991. He and his wife, Katherine, received the Boardman Civic Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award from the Boardman Civic Association for their service to Boardman Township and its public school system. He was an avid gardener and had a perpetual “green thumb.”
Edison is survived by his wife of 70 years, the former Katherine “Kay” H. Chuck, whom he married Aug. 26, 1950; his son, Jay (Jennifer) Lugibihl; daughter, Gay (Robert) Mowery; and son, Tad (Margie) Lugibihl; nine grandchildren, Nicole (Noah) Kenreigh, Michelle Wise, Stefani Lugibihl, Robert (Adrienne) Mowery, Matthew Mowery, Jessica Mowery, Jordan, Kayla and Emma Lugibihl; three great-grandchildren, Robert, Rosemary and Orion; a sister, Dorothy Keifer; sister-in-law, Ellie Chuck; brother and sister-in-law, Gerry and Gail Chuck; and many nieces and nephews.
Besides his parents, Orrie and Lydia, Edison was preceded in death by his in-laws, Joseph and Hazel Chuck; and brothers-in-law, Jay Chuck, Laverne Augsburger and Eddie Keifer.
Edison was loved, admired and respected by all who knew him. He was a faithful Christian and humanitarian. He was most proud of his family and will be sadly missed by all who knew and loved him.
Family and friends may call Thursday, May 6, 2021, from 3 to 5:45 p.m. at Davis-Becker Funeral Home, 8536 Market St. in Boardman. A funeral service will follow at 6 p.m. at the funeral home, with the Rev. Jerry Krueger officiating. Due to COVID-19, the 6-foot rule will be honored, and all guests, whose health allows, are asked to please wear a mask.
The family requests that material tributes take the form of contributions to the Boardman United Methodist Church Memorial Fund, 6809 Market St., Boardman, OH 44512, in memory of Edison.
Condolences may be sent at www.beckerobits.com.
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