Edward Taube, Jr passed away peacefully at his home on Tuesday, November 10, 2020. He had recently suffered a fall, hit his head, and just could not recover from the effects of it. He was preceded in death by his wife, Donna Taube (Williams); by his Mother, Marija Bujevics; Father, Eduards Taube; his sister, Dzidra Krievs (Juris) and grandchild, Amy Lynn Taube. Edward is survived by his children Susan Taube Paris (Mark), David Edward Taube (Janice), Laura Kaye Taube and niece Mitzi Atwood & Nephew Michael Atwood. Also surviving are sisters Ruth Oexman (Homer), Baiba Powe (John Wesley 2020), Andra Hooper (Donald), Gunta Merrill (David) and several nieces and nephews. Edward also had many good friends including Joan Copeland, BJ North, Lynn Louvar, Marleen and Brad Eggers, Bobbie Sample & Danelle Hibma, and Trey and Janelle McKinney. In addition, many good friends from Shepard of the Rockies Lutheran Church in Bailey, CO. Dad was looking forward to seeing his wife Donna in Heaven and his 15 dogs he had over the years at the Rainbow Bridge.
Edward was born in Daugavpils, Latvia (Europe) on October 25, 1932 to Eduards Taube and Marija Bujevics. His Mother passed away in 1940. His Father remarried Irma Sierins in 1941. Edward was always heartbroken over the loss of his mother at such a young age, but also loved his stepmother. Edward’s family moved to Riga, Lativia in 1941. Edward and his sister Ruth worked on his uncle’s farm at a young age to avoid the communists and the war. He said he never had much time to play as a child during the war. The war ended in 1945 and his family relocated to Germany to a displaced persons camp where he went to school. In 1949, his family chose to relocate to the United States. They left Bremenhafen and arrived in New Orleans, LA on March 13, 1949. The Lutheran Church sponsored their family while Ed’s Father worked on a Farm in Stark City, Missouri. Edward’s Father later got a job in Monett, Missouri. Ed received his High School Diploma in 1951, joined the US Air Force in 1952 and was sent to Korea and Japan in 1953 and served as a Flight Engineer and Airplane and Engine Mechanic. Edward became a US Citizen in 1954. The same year, while stationed in Amarillo, TX he met Donna Williams, a nursing student. They married on August 5, 1955. Edward received a degree in Engineering and Drafting and worked for public service in Amarillo until 1967, when an offer to double his salary, took him to RW Beck in Denver, CO. Over the next, 30 years, Ed worked for several design and engineering firms including Burndy Corporation, Harrison West, Bechtel and most recently Spectum where he helped build cell phone sites. He was the designer, inspector, and commissioning engineer of every remote wireless (cellphone) tower in the Western USA, from Denver to Salt Lake City and Amarillo to Rapid City, SD. In 1990, the American wireless phone network reached from the East Coast to Denver, existed in and around Salt Lake City, and up and down the West Coast, only west of the Cascade Mountain Range backbone. From the Cascade Range to the Rocky Mountain Front Range was impenetrable for wireless phones. In April 1990, Verizon contacted Edward’s good friend, a local Denver contractor, about trying to “do something about the cellphone system”. They reached an agreement of “cost plus 10%”, paid by Verizon, to build 97% coverage of this entire area, OFF THE POWER GRID. There was no power available (still isn’t today) and cellphone switchgear was less than durable. Ed, his good friend, and 2 others banded together as a contractor company. It took until 2003 to make it all work. Over 50 other companies were contracted to build Edward’s designs. Ed himself started up every signal of the 78 towers, 35% of which are accessed and fueled only via helicopter (Sikorski heavy-lift twin-blade). These towers operate during the dark via fuel cells, powered with propane tanks that can withstand direct lightning strikes, and during bright days via solar cells. Fueling occurs every 3 months for every tower. Ed “rode the cable’ many times to the ground and back up, as these towers are in remote, high mountain locations, 30 miles or more from any roads.
Ed blesses you every time you pick up that wireless phone to call west from here.
While in the Air Force, Ed was awarded the United Nations Service Medal, the Korean Service Medal, The National Defense Service Medal and the Good Conduct Medal.
Ed spent 31 years living in the Rocky Mountains of Bailey, CO with the love of his life, Donna, who he was married to for 61 years. Most recently, he lived in Huntsville, AL. He enjoyed sitting outside with the dogs, celebrating Friday’s and other milestones like a good golf game.
Edward will be buried at Fort Logan National Cemetery next to his wife Donna.
