A graduate of Utica College of Syracuse University, Ed grew up as a leader in church and school. A gifted athlete, Ed excelled in many sports including baseball, basketball and golf. Although Ed battled muscular dystrophy throughout his adult life, he continued to find ways to enjoy sports and remain active.
A humble and humorous man with a keen wit and sense of mischief, he is remembered as someone whose inner strength prevailed over hardship and “as a hero who laughed in the face of adversity.” Known for his courage and his jokes, Ed was a great humanitarian. Selected to carry the Salt Lake City Olympic Torch in 2002 as a community champion, Ed was the first board chair of the Kids First Child Advocacy Center in Lenoir City, TN. He also organized local golf tournaments and other fundraisers to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation in North Carolina. He was a founding member and officer of clubs including Elks and Kiwanis in North Carolina and Tennessee.
The author of poetry that tackled subjects serious and light, Ed took up fiction, free-lance writing and blogging in recent years delighting his readers with insights into the profound and inane. He was in the process of selling his first suspense/thriller manuscript at the time of his death.
Ed is survived by his beloved daughters, Danielle Conte Broadstreet of Summerfield, NC and Kristen Conte Bunting of Virginia Beach, VA, and their husbands Glen Broadstreet and David Bunting; adored grandchildren Drew and Joshua Broadstreet and Madeline and Elena Bunting; his devoted companion and Gal Friday Benay Leff of Ocean View, DE; brother-in-law Jack Bowers of Winston-Salem, NC; many adoring nieces and nephews; and a multitude of loving friends. He was predeceased by his parents Iva Mae and Louis Conte, brothers Robert Mathews and William Mathews, sisters Norma Bowers and Donna Fifield, and wife Jeanette Freeland Conte.
Visitation will be held at 1 p.m. on Friday, March 16, 2012 at Hanes Lineberry Funeral Home, 515 North Elm St., Greensboro, NC 27401. Memorial service will follow at 2 p.m.
The family wishes to thank the caring professionals at Johns Hopkins Hospital and Beebe Medical Center, and, in lieu of flowers, suggests contributions to the Kids First Child Advocacy Center, PO Box 928, Lenoir City, TN 37771. The website is www.kidsfirsttn.org
On line condolences may be made at www.haneslineberryfuneralhomes.com.
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