Edward James Bauman, age 88, died peacefully on Jan. 2, 2022 at his daughter’s home in Lincoln, California with all his children by his side. Ed was born Oct. 13, 1933, in Bird Island, Minnesota, the son of Edward Staniclaus and Irene Josephine Bauman.
Ed grew up on a small farm in Minnesota where he received his early education in several one room schoolhouses. For high school he headed to Chicago, where he lived with his sister and her family, graduating from Amundsen High School in 1949 at the age of 16.
In 1954, Ed was in Air Force ROTC and about to graduate when he met and married the love of his life, Betty Violet Zimpfer. After getting his degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Minnesota, they were soon off on a 25-year adventure in the Air Force. The Air Force allowed him to further his engineering education earning a Master’s degree from MIT and later a Ph.D. from UCLA. He taught Astronautics and Computer Science at the Air Force Academy from 1966-1980 and started the Electrical Engineering Department at Seattle Pacific University in 1984.
Their Air Force and subsequent life’s journey took them from the University of Minnesota to Seattle, Washington; to Alamogordo, New Mexico; to Boston, Massachusetts (MIT); to Dayton, Ohio; to Canoga Park, California (UCLA); to Colorado Springs, Colorado and teaching at the Air Force Academy where he retired from the Air Force in 1980. After a few more years in Colorado they were off to Bellevue, Washington where Ed taught at Seattle Pacific University. Eventually, in 2004, they made their final move to their home on the bay in Ocean Shores, Washington where they lived happily for 13 years until Betty passed away in November 2017. Ed was staying with his daughter and her husband in California prior to joining Betty in heaven.
Throughout his life Ed had two passions. One for his lifetime love, Betty who was his true partner in life. His other passion was his love for Jesus whom he wanted to share with all he met. Ed and Betty were committed together in their relationship with Jesus, and they lovingly dedicated their lives in ministry to young people through Bible studies and youth programs throughout their lives.
Ed was an active member of Faith Community Church in Ocean Shores supporting the youth programs of the church and community.
Edward is survived by his four children: Judi (Todd) Johnson of Lincoln, California; Jan (Gordon) Purcey of Dallas, Texas; Jim (Andrea) Bauman of Rocklin, California; and Joy (Garrett) Bender of San Diego, California. Ed is also survived by 11 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.
A memorial service was Sunday, Jan. 16, at Faith Community Church, Ocean Shores, Washington. There will be a family burial at Tahoma National Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to:
Faith Community Church
In Honor of Edward Bauman
Designation: Youth Programs
240 Canal Drive SE
Ocean Shores, WA 98569
A special thanks to his team from Sutter Home Health for supporting him so well. They were a blessing from God!
