Obituary of Edward L. Supple

Obituary for Edward Leo Supple July 3 1920 – April 10 2018 A great American Hero has passed away on this sad day. He was 97 years young, alert, knowledgeable, and wise-cracking until the end. Ed Supple was born in 1920, the oldest son of James Edward Supple and Anna Supple. He grew up in Everett, Massachusetts with two sisters and three brothers, Claire, Mary Alice, Robert, Tom and Albert (Rocky). He is survived by his sister Mary Alice and brother Thomas, his children David, Linda and Stephen and grandchildren and great grandchildren. He grew up in the depression but had an easier time of it than many until the untimely death of his father, an ace reporter for the Boston Globe, and his mother's becoming totally disabled. At the age of fifteen, he was living with relatives and when that didn't work out, he quit high school and began working at Forbes at sixteen. He worked there until World War Two broke out. He enlisted in the Army and was a participant in the Anzio campaign where he was hit with five machine gun bullets on Monte Cassino. Though badly wounded, he survived and continued serving in the infantry to nearly the end of the war. He very deservedly earned a Purple Heart. Prior to going off to war, he married the lovely Doris Marie (Falvey) Supple. They almost had to be reacquainted after his years away in Europe but were eventually married for a total of seventy years, Doris passing away at the age of 94. Doris bore him three children, David Edward, Linda Anne and Stephen Leo. He loved his family as much as he loved golf, and he really loved golf, being a long-time member of Bear Hill Golf Club in Wakefield, Massachusetts. Although depression- and war-hardened, he was a very loving father and husband and the rock upon which the whole family was anchored. He was the proud grandfather of Sean, Ryan and Ben (David's children) and Kendra and Michael (Linda's). He is also the ecstatic great grandfather of Lilly, Asher, Alexander, Brandon and Hannah. After the war, he took a couple of courses at Boston University to learn the business of trading in stocks and bonds. He was the first Irish Catholic to work for Paine, Webber, Jackson and Curtis, a partnership at the time comprised of Boston blue-bloods. He worked obsessively and soon became manager of the Lynn, MA office. In time, he became one of the most productive brokers in the history of Paine Webber, eventually attaining a vice-presidency. The firm never knew he only had a sophomore in high school education and Edward felt it beside the point to inform them. Eddie Supple was old school. As a kid, he read all the old Horatio Alger books, "Do or Dare", "Sink or Swim" etc. and took their message to heart. It was up to the individual to make his way in the world by using all the smarts and physical capabilities bestowed upon him. He was never on the government dole, almost never had any debts and loved his country. He always provided for and protected his family and was proud to see his children and grandchildren get the college educations he never had the opportunity to receive. He may not have had a formal education but possessed a brilliant mind which was fueled by his voracious reading habits that kept him informed and opinionated into his late nineties. He was also a Life Master in Bridge, even though he took it up late in life. He was an imperfect man, as he'd be first to admit, but he was a bigger than life dynamo doing it his way to the very end. Family and friends will always look upon him lovingly but more so with an incredible sense of awe that this brother, father, grandfather and great grandfather was the real deal, an authentic American Hero. May he live on in the hearts and minds of all who knew Edward Leo "the lion" Supple. Relatives and friends are may call in the Rockefeller Funeral Home from 12-2 Friday April 20, 2018 followed by a memorial celebration at 2:00pm. Interment will be in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery East Greenbush.