Tributes

Edward G. Pickett, 73, of Donora, died peacefully, listening to jazz music, on March 5, 2013. His loving wife, Terri, and three daughters were by his side. He was the editor and publisher of the Mon Valley Business Monthly. Ed was born in Baltimore, MD on Nov. 7, 1939, to the late Edward and Connie (Bennett) Pickett. He graduated from Howard County High School. His first job was working as a reporter for WBAL radio. At age 19, he traveled across Europe on $100, while writing the The Vagabound Diaries. His adventures there included working as an extra in the film “Ben Hur.” In 1959, he married Carole Ashbaugh and together they had three daughters. Ed worked as a reporter at the Baltimore Sun where he covered John F. Kennedy’s funeral in 1963, among other stories. In the late 1960s, he and his wife fell in love with Vermont while on a ski vacation and moved there. He worked as the head of public relations for Mount Snow Ski Area before he began running his own newspaper, The Snow Valley News. Over the years, Ed owned a number of newspaper publications in New England including The Mountain Times, The Valley News, The Fair Haven Gazette, The Poultney Journal, The Bangor Business Monthly, The Portland Business Monthly, and many others. He also owned several radio stations in Maine, Vermont and South Carolina. In the late 1970s, he bought Ski Racing magazine and covered the skiing industry for many years, including the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. In the 1980s, he worked as a commentator for ESPN including covering the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo. Ed loved traveling and adventures. For his 40th birthday he went skydiving. For his 50th, he rode his bike around Ireland’s Ring of Kerry with one of his best friends. In his 60s and divorced, he met and fell in love with Terri (Calhoun) Georgulis. They were married for ten years and he was never happier than when he was with her. Together they traveled the world. At the time of his death, he was planning a trip to Maine to see his grandsons and getting ready to go on a cruise with Terri. In addition to his wife, Ed is survived by his daughters, Kimberly Lafond and her husband Michael, Sandra Pickett, and Tera Kennedy and her husband Eric; his stepchildren, Paul Georgulis and Anastasia Georgulis; his grandchildren, Benjamin Raub, Christopher Raub, Hunter Raub, Teddy Raub, Sean Kennedy and Evan Kennedy; his sister, Marti Schmidt-Gunter, two brothers, John Pickett and James Pickett, ex-wife Carole Ross, and many cousins, nieces, nephews and cherished friends. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Monongahela Valley Hospital in appreciation of their wonderful care and compassion. There will be no public visitation. Arrangements are entrusted to the Ferguson Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc., 700 Broad Avenue, Belle Vernon. 724-929-5300 www.FergusonFuneralHomeAndCrematory.com

Tributes

Edward G. Pickett

November 7, 1939 - March 5, 2013