Edmund Stanley Darling, 90, of Waterford, died on Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015, surrounded by his family in the comfort of the home he built.He was born in Woonsocket, R.I. on July 10, 1925, the son of Walter and Margaret Darling.Ed is survived by his loving wife, Jane of 66 years and their four children, Robert (Marjorie) and James (Stella Bergeson), both of Waterford, Susan Phelan (James) of East Lyme and Elisabeth Grouten (Webster) of Niantic. He is also survived by 11 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. His sister, Holly Hastings (Bart) of West Springfield, Mass., also survives him.
He was predeceased by brothers, George and Elmer Darling.
Following his graduation from Woonsocket High School in 1943, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force as an aviation cadet and received his silver wings as an aerial navigator at the rank of flight officer. He served in that capacity until released from the service in late 1945.
He then attended Rhode Island State College (now URI) and graduated as a mechanical/aeronautical engineer. After a career in the Federal Civil Service working on sonar development, he retired from the Naval Underwater Systems Center in New London in 1975.
As a 64-year resident of Waterford, he built five homes in town for his family, one was successfully solar heated and one was built as a model home for Post and Beam construction. Ed also served two elected terms as a regular member of the Waterford Zoning Board of Appeals.
As a celebration of Ed's life, a luncheon will be held at 1 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 3, at Langley's Restaurant, located at the Great Neck Country Club in Waterford. Family and friends are invited to attend.
To honor Ed's request, his body has been donated to Yale Medical School for research.In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Ed may be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), 26 Broadway, 14th Floor, NY, NY 10004.
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