Edwin John Pallas
Marriages
Betty Jane Sherwood - June 20, 1948
Obituaries
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 3 C Obit - July 31, 2011
Edwin John Pallas, age 86, died July 22nd at Willow Tree Care
Center in Delta, CO. He was born August 9, 1924 in rural Thurston
County, Nebraska and grew up on the family farm with his younger
brother, Bob. The two brothers spent much of their spare time hunting
and fishing together.
At the time, the village of Thurston was a predominantly Czech
settlement and Ed spoke Czechoslovakian almost exclusively until
he started attending country school. By the time he was a teen, however,
he spoke mostly English and he would complain to his mother
that church services were boring since they were entirely in Czech.
His mother was not sympathetic. When his own children would later
complain about sitting through what they thought was a long and
boring sermon he would tell them to "…just be happy it's in
English!"
At the age of 19, Ed entered the Army and was eventually assigned
to the 71st Signal Service Battalion in Yokohama, Japan.
During a 'delay en route' to Yokohama he visited his parents and
was introduced to a young school teacher who would become his
wife. Edwin Pallas and Betty Jane Sherwood were married on June
20, 1948 and started their life together in Thurston, NE.
Years of cutting Russian thistles on their parents' farm had convinced
Ed and Bob that they did not want to be farmers so the brothers
started an automotive repair business in their hometown. After a
few years Bob's interest in electronics led him to take a job with
IBM. With his brother's example and with a lot of gentle persuasion
from Betty, Ed decided to go to college and pursue a degree in
Electrical Engineering. So, at the age of 34 and with two young
children in tow, Betty and Ed headed for Iowa State University in
Ames, IA. During Ed's time at ISU Betty worked as a commercial
film editor at WOI-TV to support the family. After graduation the
family moved to Colorado where Ed spent most of his engineering
career working for Hewlett-Packard in Colorado Springs. During
that time Bob and his family relocated from New York to Boulder,
CO. The two 'flat-land' brothers fell in love with the mountains and
were again able to spend time together hunting and fishing.
Edwin was preceded in death by his parents, John and Elva Pallas;
his brother, Robert and infant brother, Frank. He is survived by
Betty, his wife of 63 years; his son, Larry (Larraine) Pallas; daughter,
JoAnn (Matt) Lewis; grandson, Edward (Rose) Lewis, and
granddaughter, Lara (Andy) Janiszewski.
Ed's family would like to express their most sincere gratitude to the
staffs of the Willow Tree Care Center and Hospice and Palliative
Care of Western Colorado for the dedicated and compassionate care
he received during his last few months of life.
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 7A - August 1, 2012
Edwin John Pallas, 86,
Delta, died July 22, 2011, at Willow
Tree Care Center.
Services will be at 9:30 a.m.
Saturday at Thunder Mountain
Church of Christ in Delta.
Survivors include his wife,
Betty; one son, Larry; one
daughter, JoAnn Lewis; and two
grandchildren.
