Edward Lee "Ed" Critzer, 83, departed this life on Monday, February 27, 2023 after a long history of spinal problems.
He was born on July 27, 1939 in Staunton, VA, where he spent the first 19 years of his life.
He was preceded in death by two devoted Christian parents, Edward E. and Anne Lee (Campbell) Critzer.
He was a member of Marquis Memorial Methodist Church, and for the first six years of his life, lived within sight of it at 19 Austin Avenue. He graduated from Robert E. Lee High School in 1958, and during his last two years there, was also a member of the U.S. Naval Reserve. After High School graduation, he began his active duty military obligation and served for 3 years aboard the aircraft carrier, USS Valley Forge. In 1961, he was accepted into the school of Electrical Engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and spent the next three years there. On weekends, he also served in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve as an Electronics Technician, Second Class.
After Virginia Tech, he spent his entire career in the technical field of Industrial Control and Automation. He worked briefly in Roanoke, VA, and then moved to Richmond, VA in 1966. He bought and rebuilt a home in Richmond's Fan District and was living there at his death. His greatest satisfaction came from solving problems as an Automation Engineer in Industrial plants throughout Virginia. He also supervised new Automation construction in plants in Virginia, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Alabama. He was a Senior Life Member of the International Society of Automation, and was chosen as their National Director of Construction and Design in 1991. He traveled in this function to many places, including California, Florida, Texas, and the city of Calgary, Alberta.
After his retirement, he continued his fifty-year hobby of genealogical research, was a Governor-at-Large of the Virginia Genealogical Society for three years and was an officer of the Augusta County Genealogical Society. He was the author of a two-volume set of books entitled "The Critzer Family of the Virginia Blue Ridge."
He is survived by a son, Mark Steven Critzer, of North Carolina. He is also survived by a number of cousins, scattered about the country.
He will be buried in Thornrose Cemetery in Staunton, VA near the feet of his parents, where he knew he should have been while they were alive.