Edward Alton Summerhill

Edward A. Summerhill was born in Los Angeles, CA on October 8, 1943 to Merrill and Anna Summerhill.  He went to join them in Heaven on November 16, 2021 in Spokane, WA after a short illness and eventually pneumonia from which he did not recover.  He is survived by his beloved wife Linda Summerhill, sons Adam Summerhill and Jeffrey Summerhill, 4 grandchildren, Christopher Weber, Jesse Summerhill, Malachi Summerhill, and Mariah Summerhill, and 4 great grandchildren, Josiah, Lucy, Oliver and Gabriel Summmerhill; and his brother Thomas M. Summerhill and his sister Sandra J. Burgos.  He and Linda were married in 1962 in West Covina, CA and would have celebrated their 60th anniversary in June 2022.

Ed attended Baldwin Park High School in CA and left in October 1960 at the age of 17 when he joined the Navy.  He was retired from the Navy after 20 years of service.  He earned a B.A. degree in psychology and an MBA during his spare time in the Navy.  He was stationed on Guam in 1968 as an Electronic Technician and his family was happy to be able to join him there.  He served in Vietnam in 1970 in Mine Division 113 and was blessed to come home to his family.  He was sent to Guam again with his family in 1978 as a Career Counselor and served as an instructor at the Career Counseling School in San Diego in the interim.  While on Guam, he took SCUBA diving lessons and became an instructor of that too.  He enjoyed his time on Navy ships except for being away from his family.

Ed resided last at Orchard Crest Retirement Community in the valley for over 6 years.  He survived a massive stroke in August 2003 that left him unable to walk.  He always said "I can be sad that I'm stuck in this wheelchair or I can be happy that I am still here and try to live a happy life."  He succeeded well in that and always had a smile for people he met.  He enjoyed Wii bowling in the main building and getting his hair cut in the salon.  He enjoyed sending and receiving Emails from friends and liked editing photos on his computer.  He made slideshows and put them on CD's for his sons and other family members.  He also enjoyed going on cruises and seeing Alaska, the Caribbean, Hawaii and the Panama Canal.   The first one was to Alaska in 1994 and they were hooked eventually going 4 times to Alaska over the years.  They went on a Caribbean cruise in 1998 with his sister and her husband and on a fall foliage cruise from Boston in 2011 with his brother and his wife.  While in Boston, he was able to tour the U.S.S. Constitution after being carried up the gangplank by the crew of sailors in authentic uniforms of the time.  Before his stroke in 2003, he was an avid motorcycle rider and owned 2 touring bikes.  He and Linda rode from San Diego, CA to meet friends in San Luis Obispo, CA in 1998 and toured Hearst's Castle in San Simeon, CA.  He rode his last bike from Yuma, AZ to Spokane, WA in 2003 and sold it.  The doctor who treated him said he wouldn't have survived if he had been riding it when he had the stroke.  Another blessing that gave him 18 more years with his family.

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, January 18, 2022, at Hennessey Valley Funeral Home, 1315 N. Pines Rd, Spokane Valley. Instead of flowers, please consider a donation to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in his name.

To share memories of Ed or to leave condolences for his family, please visit his Tribute Wall.