Edgar A. Cantelon

Edgar A. Cantelon, age 95, of Bloomfield Hills and Clarkston, passed away March 17, 2016. Beloved husband of Gloria for 65 years. Loving father of Susan (Lance) Schuhmacher and Roger (Tracy) Cantelon. Proud grandfather of Christian Schuhmacher, Jordan Cantelon and Taylor Cantelon. Dear brother of John Cantelon.

Born in 1921 Edgar was the oldest of five, three brothers and one sister. He struggled with the Great Depression of 1929. His father lost his job when Detroit Radiator closed their doors. The family lost their home in Detroit, and was kicked out onto the street in the winter time. That moment was forever burned into my dad's memory. The family was forced to move to Port Huron and live with his grandmother. Dad was a good athlete; he pitched a no-hitter in the American Legion Baseball game and was written up in the Port Huron Times Herald.

Very interested in radio in 1933, approximately 12 years old he built his first crystal radio. With no stations in Port Huron, he could only receive ship-to-shore transmissions from Sarnia Ontario. He played inter mural baseball at Cooley High and continuing his interest in radio he got his Amateur Radio operators license in 1937 and became president of the Cooley High School radio club. When not at school he worked for a Hall of Famer Detroit Tiger Davy Jones at his drug store for $0.20 an hour and graduated in 1939.

He continued his education to get more radio and telegraph licenses and was able to get a better job at Royal Oak radio station WTXL. In 1940 very interested in flying he started taking lessons and joined the Civil Air Patrol. In 1941 he got a new job at WJBK Radio. The first day there while being shown around the transmitter building a news announcement broke regular programming saying the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor. Worried about getting drafted he got a job with Weltronic Corp, a defense company that built electronic parts. He was deferred from the WWII draft at the time because he worked in that defense job. Dad started a new job in 1942 during WWII, as a flight test pilot radio operator/technician at Willow Run bomber plant for Ford. This was a very dangerous job as the B-24 bomber aircraft had never been flown before. He accumulated over 2,000 plus hours of flight test flying in the B-24, he tested aircraft radio and radio navigation equipment on initial flights. In 1944 he tested an initial fight in a different aircraft with Colonel Charles Lindbergh at the controls (his biggest thrill). Frankly Colonel Lindbergh didn't have as much experience as my dad at the time. After the atom bomb was dropped the war ended and my dad was laid off. He joined the Merchant Marine and was the Radio Officer on a passenger ship on the Great Lakes. After that season ended he went back to work for Weltronic Corp and also started electrical engineering studies at Lawrence Institute of Technology, and finished his freshman year. In the fall of 1945, he and his brother Bob were drafted into the Army. After training in Virginia he shipped out to Japan and the Philippines. As it turned out in 1946 he became a Radioman for the military radio station in Manila. Several months later the war department released all draftees and he returned to the states. The GI Bill of Rights offered free college education and dad re-enrolled at Lawrence Institute of Technology. In 1948 he got the perfect job at WJBK and also received a nice raise when they started the TV station channel 2.

In 1948 dad went to a dance at the Campus Ballroom and met Gloria Hoyt. They dated for the next couple years, married in 1951, welcomed daughter Susan in 1953 and son Roger in 1954.

Over the next several years, both having a passion for flying they bought and sold a dozen different aircraft and flew all over the country. They finally sold the last plane when Roger turned 16, approximately 1970. Continuing to work for WJBK Channel 2 as the Engineering Supervisor, they decided to start their own business measuring frequencies for TV and radio stations all over Michigan, Ohio and Canada, which is required by the FCC. The business grew and enabled my father to finally quit Chanel 2 in 1980. Dad and mom did not have employees, just themselves and they operated Broadcast Measurements until 2000. Dad was in his 80’s and decided it was time to retire. They sold the business and he enjoyed his time walking the dog, surfing the internet, telling/sending jokes and stories via email to his his old ham radio friends and family. He has been a great father to me and guided me through my life.

In Loving Memory

Roger Cantelon