Eduard Prets
The life journey of Eddy Prets came to a peaceful end on March 16th, 2022 when, in the company of his wife Carol and members of his family, he began a new journey through eternal life.
He was born Eduard Préts on February 28th, 1927 in Vienna, Austria to Franz Préts and Helen Pfeisinger – the third of five children (Franz, Helen, Eddy, Otto and Charlotte). He attended school through the eighth grade but further education was interrupted by the impact of WWII on Vienna. On December 20, 1944 he received a letter ordering him to report for active duty in Berlin for the Paratrooper Division of the German Air Force. After the war and various jobs throughout Germany, he went to Heidelberg and became the Maître d’ of the American Officers’ Club in the Schloß Hotel. It was there that he met Captain James Cooper of the United States Army who, in 1955, sponsored his immigration to the United States.
In the United States, he started out in Washington D.C. and headed west – working as a Maître d’ in various clubs and restaurants along the way until in the summer of 1959 in Pewaukee, Wisconsin he met his future wife, Carol Kirstein. They announced their engagement on Thanksgiving day of the same year and were married on June 18th, 1960 in Marathon, Wisconsin. Shortly thereafter, they moved to Bakersfield, California for a very brief period before settling in Renton, Washington where Carol’s mother Dorothy had relocated in 1944 to work for Boeing. On December 12th, 1962 he was proud to officially become a citizen of the United States.
Eddy continued working as a Maître d’ at various country clubs until in 1966 he completed training with Boeing to become an Aerospace Mechanic. His career at Boeing lasted 27 years and he was proud of his many achievements there. He was one of “The Incredibles” who worked on the first 747 Jumbo Jet. Later, he worked on high-security projects for the Military Aircraft and Missiles Systems Division. At Boeing he had the opportunity to use his creative problem solving skills, which resulted in a number of innovative suggestions that streamlined production – often including designs for tools that aided in assembly and were ultimately patented.
Boeing also provided Eddy with the opportunity to return to Europe for a brief work assignment. This sparked an interest in travel that he and Carol took advantage of throughout his retirement years – often with close friends and family and always making many new friends wherever they went.
But he was happiest at home, with his American flag waving from the flagpole in the front yard. He was devoted to his wife of almost 62 years and together they raised six children: Andrew, Suzanne, Lisa Bialek (Paul), John, Angela Kieras (Dave) and James. This, in turn, blessed them with eleven grandchildren, four step-grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and one step great-grandchild. Watching his family grow and getting together for family events and holidays were his greatest pleasures.
He prided himself on his dahlias and planted them every year. He enjoyed watching for hummingbirds and deer in the yard, hunting down garage sales, helping friends and neighbors when something needed fixing and any excuse for going out to dance a polka or waltz with his wife. A man of many talents, he was equally at home in the kitchen making apple pancakes or Hungarian goulash as he was playing the harmonica, writing in calligraphy, playing Tripoley and keeping busy on his computer. It was always easy to find him in a crowd: he’d be the one with the camera.
Eddy outlived everyone in his family by many years. We were all so happy that he could be at home for his 95th birthday, but nobody was happier about that than he was. It’s safe to say that he will never be forgotten because too many pictures and endearing stories linger for that to ever happen. He will, however, truly be missed.
A funeral service will be held at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Renton at 11:00 a.m. on June 10th, 2022.
The post first appeared on Barton Family Funeral Service.