Edward Biele Obituary

This is the text from the obituary of Edward Biele:

Biele, Edward Caspar, age 95 died peacefully on November 3, 2012 following a very brief illness. Edward, a long time Seattle resident, was born on June 29, 1917 in Hackensack, NJ and grew up in Yonkers, NY. He attended Columbia College on a scholarship and later Columbia Law School. He enlisted in the naval officer program shortly after Pearl Harbor during his second year of law school. Edward often talked about his experiences in World War II as the most formative of his life – particularly his service as Lieutenant Commander of the submarine USS Sea Devil on its four patrols in the Pacific during 1944 and 1945.

 

Edward returned to New York after the war to finish school and begin practicing law. During this time, he met Mary Elizabeth Haskell of Wenatchee, WA who in 1946 became his soul mate for 61 years. In 1950, Edward and Mary relocated to Seattle for a better quality of life and as an ideal location to practice in Edward’s chosen specialty, maritime law. Edward joined law firm Bogle & Gates where he practiced and was senior partner in its Admiralty Law Practice Group until retirement in 1982. Edward was an active member in the Maritime Law Association and served for many years on its Executive Committee. Edward had a second career as an apple

farmer, which began in the mid 1970’s when his son John and he partnered to acquire and operate orchards near Oroville, WA.

 

Edward was voted “Most Resourceful” by his high school graduating class. That tribute portended the trajectory of his life. He loved to travel and to explore new cultures. He embraced new ideas and experiences. Similarly, he challenged everyone around him including his children and grandchildren to think independently and find their own paths. Edward was an avid historian and voracious reader. He had a keen intellect and encyclopedic knowledge of almost any topic.

 

Edward was a benevolent patriarch whose love of his wife, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren was of paramount importance. He is survived by his three children, John Edward Biele of Oroville, Alexander Thomson Biele of Dallas and Mary Elizabeth (Polly) Lenssen of Seattle, five grandchildren and five great grandchildren.  The family plans a private memorial service. The family requests remembrances be made to: Children’s Hospital Foundation, PO Box 50020, Seattle, WA, 98145 for use by Clinical Nutrition in research or a charity of choice.

Edward C. Biele Jr. 1917-2012

On November 3, 2012, Edward Casper Biele Jr. passed away.  He was 95 years old and the last Biele of his generation in my family branch.  Edward was born on June 29, 1917 in Hackensack, NJ to Edward (Eduard) Casper Biele and Edith Lankenau.

I first met Edward via email just over 14 years ago.  I had sent out a note to a number of “Biele” email addresses I had found in internet directories looking for “lost” family members and he was the first to respond.  The text of his email response from November 1, 1998 is as follows:

I am indeed one of Bieles you seek.  My grandfather was Charles F. Biele who was in the business of making showcases in New York City.  The family business was Charles F. Biele & Sons, Inc. My father Edward and his brother Carl (your great grandfather) took over the business but it got away from them in the 1930s. During the Vietnam War I spent much time in Washington negotiating with the Navy on behalf of a client. Several times during my time in Washington I visited your grandfather (my cousin) who was retired from the Navy and living Silver Springs, MD

I graduated from Columbia College in 1939 and Columbia Law School after World War II although my original class was 1942. From 1950 to 1983 I practiced admiralty law in Seattle after a couple of years at it in New York. I did teach admiralty law at the University of Washington Law School after my retirement from active practice.  My two sons went to Columbia College and my daughter went to Vassar. My wife  graduated from the University Of Michigan.

Purely by coincidence, last month I was in New York and visited my cousin Alma Stucker, the daughter Frieda (Fredricke) Biele Helbing, my father's sister.  She showed me a family history started by my aunt Alma Biele Leber, my father's other sister.

 

Edward and I only met once, but for 14 years we kept in regular contact via email sharing information about the Biele family.  Every time I would find some new information about the family or the former showcase business, I would send it his way and he would usually follow up with a story from his memory that never seemed to fade.

More to come….