We would love it if you would share your stories or memories about our dad.
10 entries.
Eddie was one of a kind and the most fun person I have ever known. I remember one of his birthday parties (40th I think) when he rented a bus to take his friends to a steakhouse in Denton to celebrate. Since we did not have to drive the booze flowed on the way up, at the restaurant and on the way back. Eddie planted himself in the front isle behind the driver, turned facing the front, dropped his pants and mooned the entire group. Someone said what is going on and another said, nothing, it is just Eddie mooning everyone. It was really to be expected and nothing out of the ordinary. What a sight and what a guy. We will all miss him so much.
I will start with the day I met Eddie. He and my husband, Regis, were roommates. He introduced himself with a big smile and continued eating his breakfast which was cereal with beer poured over it. His girlfriend, your mother, and I were roommates so we were with these guys every day. Eddie was so much fun and when we went out on the town he made sure to iron his money so the bills would be crisp. We were young and the world was our playground. We traveled together from Tahoe to Hot Springs. The thing I noticed about Eddie was that he could have been many things. I always thought he would be a great architect because of his sense of detail. After all he did invent an important HVAC part. I never remember being around Eddie when I did not laugh. He told me years ago that his birthday was March 5 and to never forget it. I always remembered! Eddie was bigger than life and I truly will miss him. Kelly and Melissa along with Aspen and Dane were his shining stars and now he will shine for you. I love you Big Ed!
Eddie Walner is legendary within my family. Charlene and I met Eddie 50 years ago when I was hired by Honeywell. Ed was a salesman in the Dallas office and we became instant friends. Eddie was outrageously irreverent and over the top funny. Everybody that knew him loved the fact Ed always had a joke sheet in his wallet that contained nothing but punchlines to jokes. If you asked Ed for a joke he would look at his list, see a punchline and let her rip. He knew hundreds of jokes just by reading punchlines! …and his timing and delivery were always spot on. Ed was family. He was always terrific company at Thanksgiving and Easter before moving to Oklahoma to be closer to his kids and grandkids. Even after moving he would come to Dallas to see his doctor. He would always drop by to share a “Gar and a Cocktail”. We would all sit out in our cabana, drink waay too much and reminisce. We’d go inside and Ed would sleep on the couch. Before we would wake up the next morning – Ed would get up, fold sheets and blankets neat as a pin, and head back to Oklahoma. We are so sorry we lost Ed sooner than we would have chosen but his memory will always burn brightly in our hearts and in our home. We love you Ed.
Eddie Walner...just hearing his name brings a smile. Eddie was my oldest cousin on the Walner side. His dad and my mother were siblings. As others have said, Eddie was the life of the party. Everyone enjoyed his company. I always admired him so much-his happy demeanor was contagious! A lot of my time with him was in the summer when we spent time at his dad’s place on Lake Texoma. He would arrive, smiling and hugging, and greet each and everyone of the family members. He would sit and chat with our grandparents who clearly loved him dearly, spend time telling stories, jokes (with lots of laughing!) with all of our aunts and uncles, go inside and keep his mom company in the kitchen for awhile, go help his dad with anything that needed fixing, and then the thing we loved the most—he spent time with us- his cousins who were a good 10-15 years younger! We absolutely adored him! He taught us to ride the Honda, he skied with us or drove the boat for us to ski, played horseshoes, and just seemed to enjoy us! He made the whole family feel special! I remember when he was serving our country and how proud I was to say my cousin was on the Enterprise. When he brought Joan to the lake for the first time, we thought he would probably just spend all his time with her, but boy were we wrong!! It was even better! She liked us too! The whole family loved her! And what an honor it was to be asked to be in their wedding! My first of many was always special to me. As we all know, his family was his heart. He loved his girls and was so proud of them as kids and as women. And the grandkids were the light of his life. He was a real family guy from way back! Even though we haven’t been able to spend a lot of time together in more recent years, I’m going to miss his presence my life. Just knowing he was in the world made it a better place. Thanks for the memories, Eddie! And thanks for introducing me to Salty Dogs. (When I was almost legal!) I’ll love you forever.
I had the pleasure of meeting Eddie as a result of marrying into the family. Eddie and my wife, Carol, were first cousins. I was lucky enough to be on his email list, and that’s really how our relationship grew.
I never dreamed I’d be emailing him nearly every day over many years. We always had a great time sending political articles to each other and talking politics, sports and all kinds of things. It was easy to develop a relationship with Eddie because our thoughts and feelings were so much the same on so many issues.
I always had a lot of respect for Eddie because he fought for our country and was a successful, self-made man. But I also admired his obvious zest for life and how that love influenced others. He so obviously loved his girls, grandkids and friends. You could always feel his pride when he sent out pictures to people on his email list of friends and family.
I will miss Eddie, especially his thoughts on politics, general humor, and jovial nature. Nobody was like Eddie Walner.
Life of the party. Spirited. Hilarious. Kind. Giving. Generous. Protective. Fiercely conservative.
These are just a few words that describe the Eddie I know. He gave me a job when I needed one, gave me a raise when I needed one. Gave me advice whether I thought I needed it or not. The day he found out he had cancer, I was visiting Dallas and he insisted we go to dinner. We went - it had been 28 years since we’d seen each other. Time stood still because when he walked in, we embraced and literally picked up right where we’d left off. That megawatt smile lit up the entire place. We promised to see each other again but unfortunately that never happened. But it will someday. Eddie mellowed just a touch over the years. But he perked up when political talk surfaced. The very last words I ever heard him say were, “I love you, too, kid. Trump 2020.” And then the infectious giggle.
Ed meant the world to me. I loved him deeply, as deeply as friends can. I will miss him desperately. My prayers are with all of you. His family was his absolute pride and joy.❤️
I always referred to Eddie as my cousin even though he was my Mom's (Sylvia Walner) cousin. It was always a great time when I was around Eddie because he was the light of the party. He and I stayed in touch over the years via email and he was good at giving me a hard time for whatever was going on in my life. He loved his daughter's and his grandkids more than anything. I enjoyed keeping up with with all the great milestones of his beloved family. I loved Eddie and he will be missed! My thoughts and prayers are with you all.
Eddie was the oldest child of my mother's oldest brother. I always looked up to Eddie. My best memories were from our time spent skiing and fishing on Lake Texoma. He was so patient with teaching me to ride the Honda scooter at the cabin. I remember the day Eddie and Joan married and how happy we all were for them. I cried when Eddie went into the service and was stationed on a ship so close to action. He sent ivory statues from the other side of the world to our grandmother, Sweet Thing, in Wynnewood. She displayed the figurines so proudly and it made me even prouder of him. His smile was so impish and made everyone want to be in his company. I will miss him until we are together again. Love you Eddie!
P-paw was an amazing and loving grandpa. He took us to so many fun and exciting places! One of my favorite places to go with him was the museum of the great plains. There was so much to do there and we had such a fun time. My P-paw was the most caring and fun grandpa ever. He always asked us what we wanted to do, and whatever we said we wanted to do he wanted to do. He taught us so many things that I will never forget. My favorite one was what months have 30 days and which ones have 31. When we got to see him he always brought a smile to our face. He always had a special place in my heart and it will never leave. He put me and my family before him always and that was a very cool thing to me and he was a role model to me in that way. I love you P-paw and you will always have a place in my heart and I know you have one for me too. One of the things that he always said was "I love you more than you love me". That's the one thing I feel like he was always wrong on. I know you're in a better place P-paw and I know you will always watch over me and my family and i cant wait to see you again one day. I love you P-paw!
My dad was an amazing man who loved life and loved everyone he shared it with. He was there for me through the hardest times of my life and the best times, and he taught me so much. I will always cherish the memories of our back to school shopping sprees and awesome bike rides as a kid, the long letters he used to write to me trying to get me on the right path as a teenager, and the sunset talks on the back patio about business and life as an adult. I learned so much from him, and so much of who I am is because of him. In recent years, his focus in life shifted to my kids, and he was absolutely in love with them. I'm so grateful that he got to spend so much time with them over the years, going to Disney World, water parks, bounce houses, wakeboarding, indoor skydiving, museums, and whatever other fun experience he wanted to give them. As his body started to give out, he couldn't do as much, but he still tried to spend as much time with them as he could. He loved them, he loved my sister and me, he loved my husband and his family, and he loved his friends. I miss him so much and would give anything for one more conversation with him, to watch one more OU game, to get one more inappropriate (but funny) email. There will be a void in my life that I'm not going to be able to fill, but I will honor his memory in every way that I can. I love you, daddy.