Loving husband, father, brother, uncle and friend, Edward Kasmir Katri passed away on December 20, 2018 at Timber Ridge in Eureka.
Ed was born to Antone and Clelia Katri on July 16, 1937 in Eureka. He grew up on his father’s dairy farm in the Pleasant Point area of Ferndale, near the Eel River. He attended the Assumption School in Ferndale and later attended Ferndale High School, where he was involved with 4-H and FFA showing Guernsey dairy cattle and beef steers. His family moved to the Arcata Bottoms in 1953, where he continued to be involved with FFA and show his prized Guernseys. In 1954, Ed received an FFA blanket that he proudly posed for a picture with his father holding up the other end. He graduated from Arcata High School in 1955.
After graduation he continued milking cows with his brother Bill as a partner. In the late 1950s through the mid-1960s, he worked as a custodian and bus driver for Pacific Union School in Arcata.
Ed was drafted into the Army Corps of Engineers in 1961 where he was stationed at Fort Ord, Hunter Liggett, California and France. He was honorably discharged two years later and returned to Humboldt County. He was never without a job. He worked in the woods, drove truck hauling anything and everything throughout Oregon and California, and any job that required heavy equipment. I
n 1968, Ed was hired by the California Department of Transportation. It was during this time that he met and married his wife, Mary. After their marriage in 1973, they settled down on a farm in Fortuna, again near the Eel River. Ed and Mary raised their two daughters on the farm along with many beef steers.
He loved hunting and fishing. His yearly vacation was taking the family camping on the Mendocino Coast to fish for abalone. He also enjoyed helping family and friends make homemade sausage and salami. He later purchased the equipment and with the help of his family made sausage and salami every year.
In 1984, he
transferred to the California Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection as a Heavy Fire Equipment Operator. He was stationed at
High Rock Camp near Weott for his 14 years of service. In 1997, Ed
and the family moved closer to Fortuna where he had more acreage to
not only raise steers but also have a small herd of beef cows. Upon
retirement in 1998, he returned to working in the woods, fighting
fires, and helping out his neighbors. He also puttered around working
on his John Deere tractors and making sure his yard looked nice. He
fully retired from farming in 2015 when he moved to Timber Ridge, leaving his cows and cats to the family to take care of.
He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Mary, and his two daughters, Kim and Cindy. He is also survived by his sister and brother, Kathy Machado (Rich) and Tom (Sandra), his nieces and nephews, Cindy Machado, Lisa Lapp (Matt), Brian Katri, Christopher Katri and Matt Katri, great niece Mikayla Lapp and many other relatives. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother William. The family would like to thank the staff of Timber Ridge, especially all of his caregivers and Hospice of Humboldt, with special thanks to Deanna and Hillary.
Visitation will be Thursday, December 27, 2018 from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Goble’s Mortuary in Fortuna with a rosary to follow. Funeral services will be the following day, December 28, 2018 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Fortuna at 10 a.m. Internment will follow at St. Bernard’s Mausoleum in Eureka. A reception will be held at the Fortuna Fire Hall after the service. In lieu of flowers, please give to the charity of your choice.
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