Edward Phillip O'Leary passed away peacefully at home in Republic, Washington at the age of 72 on the morning of November 18, 2023. Born on May 7, 1951, in Portland, Oregon to Robert and Mary O'Leary. He graduated from Lake Washington High School in 1970, Kirkland WA. Followed by enlisting in the US Army Reserves, and a short stint at Central Washington State College. After which he joined his father at Boeing, where he worked for 35+ years. Starting off as an assistant draftsman, moving up to tool engineering as a project manager. One of the notable projects he worked on was the maintenance of instruments on Airforce One, in Wichita, Kansas through the mid-1990s. Followed by the opportunity to travel the world on Boeing's dime. He was fond of telling stories of his trips to Italy, Spain, and Ireland. Most of his travels up until his retirement, however, were to Asia. He liked to say he had a desk in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, while golfing in Thailand, and a few visits to India and Australia.

He met the love of his life (of 47+ years) in Dec. of 1975 while working on the floods in Monroe, WA where they were both members of the 409 th Combat Engineering Company in the Army Reserves. She operated a bulldozer, and he was part of the bridge crew. He tried to direct the bulldozer operator who refused to listen as he was not her sergeant, you could say sparks flew over this argument. By March, they had begun seeing each other, he was mentioning marriage by the second date. Never actually proposing, they were married on September 25th, 1976, less than one year after their first fight. Their first born arrived the following year, eventually having four children, all raised in Monroe.

Always saying he was born in the wrong century, he was a cowboy at heart, enjoying the open range on horseback. If a real horse could not be found his iron horse (Motorcycle) was not far. He enjoyed long summer rides with his wife and their friends. From day trips to weeklong rides, the motorcycle was his modern-day steed. An avid outdoorsman, he would talk about hunting, fishing, and backpacking trips he did, or wanted to do, throughout his life. Hunting season was always at "Elk Post 5," with his buddies, wherever in the state they ended up hunting that year. In more recent years, as mobility became an issue, fishing was his adventure of choice. Either in a boat on Curlew Lake, sitting on a dock somewhere, or flying up to Alaska to catch salmon, halibut, and prawns off the coast of Ketchikan. Always enjoying the moment with those that joined him. He was fond of picking up bits and pieces of the languages he heard on his travels but liked to say he was fluent in Pig-Latin often saying: "iyay ancay eakspay uentflay igpay atinlay." His sense of humor and ability to tell a story is something everyone he met remembers about him. He was never accused of being shy or quiet. Nor could you ever go anywhere with him without running into someone that he could make a personal connection to. He did his best to talk with anyone in the room, even if they were the quiet one sitting in the corner.

He is survived by his wife Linda, four children Joshua (Carissa), Jessica (Dustan Bricker), Jason (and his cats), Jaclyn (Donovan Ponther). Along with 7 grandchildren, Micheal, Emily, Daphne, Kya, Georgia, Keegan, and Jameson. Great Grandchildren Kaiden and Willow. His siblings Michael, Dennis, Kevin, Kathleen, and Mary and their extended families. He was preceded in death by His Parents, Robert and Mary, Parents-in-law Harold and Martha Ponther, June Ponther, his siblings Teresa, and Ray, sister-in-law Patricia, and grandson Tristen, and many horses, dogs, cats, and numerous other animals in his time.

Services and Celebration of Life, Sunday, December 10 th , 2023 at 3:00 PM at K-Diamond-K Guest Ranch, Republic, Washington.