Edward "Ed" Elmer Petry

Edward "Ed" Elmer Petry, age 87 of White Bear Lake, passed away on June 19, 2026.

Edward was the only child born to George and Grace Petry. As he was growing up, he and his parents spent many weekends out of town fishing, hunting, and hanging out with relatives. He told stories of his aunts and uncles moving the furniture out of their homes and putting it on the lawn so they could make room in their farmhouses for dancing. Whoever could play an instrument would bring it along including Ed's father who played the violin. Some of Ed's cousins felt more like brothers to him because they spent so much time together while growing up.

His father owned and ran a sawmill for a while so maybe that's where Ed picked up his carpentry skills for all the projects and remodeling that he accomplished during his life. Ed learned mechanics from his father, but he chose Structural Engineer Drafting as his occupation. Early in his career, he was drafted into the Army and stationed in Colorado where he met his first wife, Arlene. She was also from Minnesota but was working in Estes Park for the summer with her sister. In 1964 Ed and Arlene were married in Minnesota and had two children, Renae and Shawn. Ed worked for several different architecture firms during his career, but his main hobby was railroading (and remodeling his house). He belonged to several different clubs and would take his family railroading on vacations or long weekends which was very exciting and entertaining for two young children.

Then Ed met Marlene who had seven grown children of her own. In June of 1987 they were married and began many new projects together. They enjoyed being outside gardening, tending to flowerbeds or landscape projects . In the winter or during inclement weather, they would work on inside remodeling projects and their various hobbies and were always willing to help any of the kids with their projects. Ed and Marlene started their many travel adventures before they retired so they could fit as much in as possible. They traveled across many states to visit friends, family, state parks, railroads that others had built and a garden railroad where the train cars were large enough for an adult to sit on and ride around on the outdoor track. Of course, Ed built a couple of train cars so that he and Marlene could ride the garden railroad. They even took a few cruises with friends. The travel stories in their Christmas letters each year usually had some sort of van/camper or trailer trouble that required a few phone calls to Ed’s son, Shawn, who is a mechanic. Shawn could advise his dad on what to try fixing himself and what he needed to have a local mechanic fix.

No matter what Ed and Marlene were doing together, they lived their lives to the fullest and were blessed by God to always make it home safely and share 39 years together.

Ed is preceded in death by his parents, George & Grace. He is survived by his wife, Marlene; children, Renae (Paul) Porath Cridlebaugh, Shawn (Lee) Petry, Debbie (Bob) Schmidt, Marla (Roger) Anderson, Marvin (LeAnn) Kreger, Angela (Steve) Hennen, Marcia (David) Hauer, Lynelle (Don) Vine, & Joella (Ravi) Diasabeygunawarden; as well as many loved grandkids, great-grandkids, & great-great grandkids.

A Memorial Service will be held at 5 PM on Friday, July 17 at MUELLER MEMORIAL, 4738 Bald Eagle Ave, White Bear Lake with visitation from 4-7 PM.