Edwin James LaRue's Obituary
Edwin James La Rue
January 31, 1931 – March 9, 2018
Oceanside – Edwin James La Rue passed away on Friday, March 9, 2018, in Spokane, Washington. Ed was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on January 31, 1931. He was the son of Max and Florence (ne Cottingham) La Rue. Ed was raised in Chicago where he spent his summers caddying, playing golf and going to Cubs games at nearby Wrigley Field. Ed joked that he spent his winters wishing it was summer. So to the surprise of no one, after graduating from Oak Park High School, he packed a car and headed for the warmer climate of Florida Southern University where he played on the golf team and began his studies to become a teacher. Ed met his future wife, Julie, at Florida Southern where she was also studying to become a teacher. The family liked to joke that while Julie graduated in three years, it took Ed seven years, courtesy of a three-year stint in the Marine Corps that interrupted his college studies. With the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, Ed left college after his freshman year to enlist in the Marines. There he served as a proud member of the 1st Marine Division in an infantry unit and later a mortar unit through several campaigns until the Armistice was signed in July 1953. Upon his return from Korea, he re-enrolled at Florida Southern and quickly put down his golf clubs and picked up Julie at a TKE fraternity mixer. That was the beginning of a lifelong courtship with marriage right after graduation. Ed and Julie celebrated their 60th Anniversary together on June 20, 2017. Upon graduation, both took teaching jobs in Southern California. After two years of teaching, Ed realized that he really missed the Marine Corps. So it was back to the Corps for him, Julie and their first two boys. Over the next three years, three more children were added to the “travel team roster” and they were off to wherever the Corps thought best to send them. Ed bravely served two combat tours in Viet Nam followed by long deployments to Okinawa and Cuba while the family served at home in California, Hawaii, Virginia and North Carolina. After a distinguished 30-year career in the Marine Corps, he retired as a Sergeant Major. Ed and Julie spent many happy years in retirement living in Oceanside, CA, and traveling to just about every corner of the world from the Arctic Circle to Antarctica, and from Australia to Austria. What Ed didn’t get to see courtesy of the USMC, he and Julie saw together under better circumstances and better accommodations post-retirement! Ed was active all his life and loved to play golf, tennis, and running. Often he would do two of the three on the same day and did it well into his 80s! Although he was a much better golfer than tennis player early in life, he became an outstanding tennis player. For many years he competed on the All Marine Corps tennis team, winning the senior division several times thereby earning a spot in the Inter-Service Championships. On one of those occasions he had the chance to meet Wimbledon Champions Jimmy Connors and Chris Evert who came out to support the team. He and Julie were active members at El Camino Country Club in Oceanside for almost 40 years and could regularly be found on the courts or on the tee-box. He also loved the San Diego Padres and his original hometown Chicago Cubs. He was one of the lucky few living Cub fans to attend one of their 1947 World Series games in person and live to see his beloved Cubbies finally break the curse and capture the 2016 World Series. Ed is survived by his wife Julie, five children James (Dawn), Scott (Lynn), Richard (Brenda), Margaret (Elke) and Max (Lory), and twelve grandchildren. Two of Ed’s sons, James and Richard, followed in their father’s footsteps and served as pilots in the Marine Corps. Semper Fi.
The Funeral will be held on Monday, March 26th, 2018. There will be a viewing, memorial service and reception from 11 am to 1 pm at the Clairemont Mortuary, 4266 Mt. Abernathy Ave., San Diego, CA, followed by a burial service at 2pm at the Miramar National Cemetery, 5795 Nobel Dr., San Diego, CA. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Ed’s name to The Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation. January 31, 1931 – March 9, 2018
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