












All services will be private
Edwin Lee Powell, 94, of Winchester, VA passed away peacefully at his home on Tuesday, May 25, 2021.
Ed was born in 1927 in Ancon, PCZ (Panama Canal Zone) to the late Newman Minnich Powell and Ruth Wilson Powell. At the age of 6, he played in his first violin recital and continued to play the violin with the Wheeling Symphony. Extremely bright and inquisitive, Ed skipped two grades and enrolled in Ohio University at the age 16 where he studied math and engineering. As soon as he turned 18, he joined the US Navy to serve his country through the end of WWII. He was discharged a year after the war as an Electricians Technician’s Mate 2nd Class.
Ed worked as a contract engineer which took him all over the United States and overseas. Some of the projects he helped plan and supervise included the Pascagoula Mississippi Shipyard, the Sprint Missile Facility in North Dakota, working with the US Army Corps of Engineers to supervise and maintain US Postal Services buildings, canals and military constructions through Watervliet Arsenal in New York, the construction of Eisenhower Hall at West Point and, finally, head of Value Engineering for US Middle Eastern Projects, the position from which he retired in 1994.
Of all the positions he held, he was most proud of his time working with NASA and Werner Von Braun at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama building rocket test stands in the push to get the first man on the moon.
Ed had a wonderful life full of unique experiences that he would happily regale his family and friends with, like the time he was invited by Nat King Cole to sing Mona Lisa with him during a practice session at a nightclub in the Poconos; or the time he got to test drive the first turbo-engine at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and many more. He remembered pretty much everything he ever read and could tell you how almost anything worked. If he did not know something, he would research it and figure it out. His only real vices were ice-cream, donuts, chocolate, coffee, and a lively debate! In addition to his many adventures, he was a member of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Organization, the Winchester Moose Lodge and had been a long-time member of the Winchester/Frederick County Conservation Club.
Ed married his first wife, Norma Luccioni Powell, in 1947 and enjoyed 47 happy years of marriage until her untimely death in 1995. He then married Brenda Lou Edmonson and was blessed with an additional 25 years in a happy marriage.
Ed, Dad, Grandpa, you will be sorely missed.
Ed is preceded in death by his parents, his 1st wife, Norma; son, Evan Powell; brothers: Newman Powell and Wallace Powell; sister: Ruth Krohmer; one grandchild and one great-grandchild.
Surviving with his wife, Brenda, are children, David Powell (Joyce), Steven Powell, Laurie Powell, Susan Braithwaite (Neil), Christopher Powell, and Dawn Michelle Kelly (Robert), along with 9 grandchildren; 7 great-grandchildren and his sister, Patricia Powell.
Services for Ed will be private.
All services will be private
Edwin Lee Powell, 94, of Winchester, VA passed away peacefully at his home on Tuesday, May 25, 2021. Ed was born in 1927 in Ancon, PCZ (Panama Canal Zone) to the late Newman Minnich Powell and Ruth Wilson Powell. At the age of 6, he played in his first violin recital and continued to playContinue Reading
Edwin Lee Powell, 94, of Winchester, VA passed away peacefully at his home on Tuesday, May 25, 2021.
Ed was born in 1927 in Ancon, PCZ (Panama Canal Zone) to the late Newman Minnich Powell and Ruth Wilson Powell. At the age of 6, he played in his first violin recital and continued to play the violin with the Wheeling Symphony. Extremely bright and inquisitive, Ed skipped two grades and enrolled in Ohio University at the age 16 where he studied math and engineering. As soon as he turned 18, he joined the US Navy to serve his country through the end of WWII. He was discharged a year after the war as an Electricians Technician’s Mate 2nd Class.
Ed worked as a contract engineer which took him all over the United States and overseas. Some of the projects he helped plan and supervise included the Pascagoula Mississippi Shipyard, the Sprint Missile Facility in North Dakota, working with the US Army Corps of Engineers to supervise and maintain US Postal Services buildings, canals and military constructions through Watervliet Arsenal in New York, the construction of Eisenhower Hall at West Point and, finally, head of Value Engineering for US Middle Eastern Projects, the position from which he retired in 1994.
Of all the positions he held, he was most proud of his time working with NASA and Werner Von Braun at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama building rocket test stands in the push to get the first man on the moon.
Ed had a wonderful life full of unique experiences that he would happily regale his family and friends with, like the time he was invited by Nat King Cole to sing Mona Lisa with him during a practice session at a nightclub in the Poconos; or the time he got to test drive the first turbo-engine at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and many more. He remembered pretty much everything he ever read and could tell you how almost anything worked. If he did not know something, he would research it and figure it out. His only real vices were ice-cream, donuts, chocolate, coffee, and a lively debate! In addition to his many adventures, he was a member of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Organization, the Winchester Moose Lodge and had been a long-time member of the Winchester/Frederick County Conservation Club.
Ed married his first wife, Norma Luccioni Powell, in 1947 and enjoyed 47 happy years of marriage until her untimely death in 1995. He then married Brenda Lou Edmonson and was blessed with an additional 25 years in a happy marriage.
Ed, Dad, Grandpa, you will be sorely missed.
Ed is preceded in death by his parents, his 1st wife, Norma; son, Evan Powell; brothers: Newman Powell and Wallace Powell; sister: Ruth Krohmer; one grandchild and one great-grandchild.
Surviving with his wife, Brenda, are children, David Powell (Joyce), Steven Powell, Laurie Powell, Susan Braithwaite (Neil), Christopher Powell, and Dawn Michelle Kelly (Robert), along with 9 grandchildren; 7 great-grandchildren and his sister, Patricia Powell.
Services for Ed will be private.
Your condolence may need to be approved before it appears on this page. It may not appear immediately once submitted.
Your condolence may need to be approved before it appears on this page. It may not appear immediately once submitted.
Your condolence may need to be approved before it appears on this page. It may not appear immediately once submitted.
Thank you for leaving a condolence..
Your comment has been submitted for moderation.