Obituary for Edward Lindsay

On August 24, 1921, Edward Williams Lindsay, Sr., was born at the Lindsay horse farm on the Shenandoah River near Boyce, Virginia. His parents were Winston S. Lindsay, Sr., and Marjorie Lee Harris. He lived 93 years and passed away at Ponca City Medical Center on December 18, 2014.

As he was growing up, his family moved several times, first during the oil boom to Tonkawa, OK, and then Wichita, KS, and finally to Jackson, MS, where he graduated from Central High School. Each summer, he would return with his three brothers to Virginia to help his grandfather with the farm and annual horse show.

For college, Ed was first enrolled at VMI (Virginia Military Institute) until he was diagnosed with a heart problem. He then attended the University of Texas and API (Auburn University) where he earned a degree in electrical engineering and an army commission.

While in graduate school at Auburn, he met Margaret Ruth Upton, whom he married on June 24, 1948 in Christ Church, Pensacola, Fl. They moved to Pittsburgh, PA, where Ed worked as a research engineer for Westinghouse. There they had three children: Edward, Winston, and Margaret(Peggy), now of Destin, FL, Ponca City, OK, and Fort Worth, TX.

During the war, Ed worked on the Manhattan Project (atomic bomb) and during the cold war, he received a Navy commendation for work on the Polaris missile. Also, he authored several papers and patents on insulators, power-line traps, and magnetic arc circuit breakers.

In 1963, Ed moved to Ponca City to become General Manager of Vacu-Maid, a manufacturer of central vacuum systems. Vacu-Maid had been formed by his father and uncle in 1956. During the next twenty years, Ed engineered and patented new products, and he established distributors throughout the U.S. and overseas. He became President of Vacu-Maid, greatly expanded the manufacturing plant, and then bought controlling interest in the company as it became a world-leading manufacturer in its industry. He was a professional engineer, a member of ASTM (product standards), and a member of the VDTA (Vacuum Dealers) Hall of Fame.

In later years, Ed cared for his wife for 27 years after she needed brain surgery. At Vacu-Maid, he worked in the plant until he was 91. He particularly enjoyed working with the good folks of the Opportunity Center enclave inside the plant.

Ed was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, and two brothers, Winston and James. Ed is survived by his brother, John Tucker Lindsay and wife Virginia of Fort Walton Beach, FL, and by his three children : Edward, Winston and wife Betty, and Peggy and husband Tom Davis; by six grandchildren: Winston Lindsay and wife Brooke of Ponca City, Natalie and husband Marshall Fraser of Ponca City, Marjorie and husband Tyler Barnes of Dallas, Tommy Davis of Dallas, Emily and husband Tyler Reynolds living in Norway, and Katie Davis of Houston ; and by five great-grandchildren: Winston, Harper, and Lorelei all of Ponca City, and Olivia and Madeline of Dallas. A memorial service for Ed is scheduled for 10:30 AM on Saturday, January 3, 2015, at Grace Episcopal Church in Ponca City. In lieu of flowers, a memorial has been established in his name at the Opportunity Center, Inc., 2225 North Union, Ponca City, OK, 74601.

Source: Trout Funeral Home