Surrounded by his wife, his daughters, his grandchildren and great grandchildren, Donald Edgar spent some of his final days floating in his pool overlooking the Long Island Sound. These brief floats allowed him to have a few relaxed moments when he could talk with his loved ones and enjoy his home during his final days. Don died Sept. 2, 2015, after a brief bout with cancer.
Donald was the patriarch of a large, loving extended family. He was predeceased by his first wife of 49 years, Pamela Valentine Edgar, and is survived by his wife of 12 years, Delphine Krauss Edgar. In addition, he is survived by his daughter Cynthia Garruba; daughter and son-in-law Nancy and Jim Winkler; and daughter and son-in-law Jody and Robert Cook, as well as his stepchildren, Mary Alice and John Kelly and Mitch and Monique Krauss. Also surviving is his sister Florence Edgar Conti, and he was predeceased by his sister Claire Edgar Vrooman. His devoted grandchildren include Andrew Winkler, Paul Winkler and his wife, Jessica, Christopher Cook and his wife, Kyle, Pam Winkler Tew and her husband, Jonathan, Jenny Cook, Cathryn Cook, Nancy Rose Garruba and step-grandchildren Jeffrey Van Etten, Christina Jane Krauss and Liam Kelly. Great-grandchildren Coleman and Julianna Cook, Ruby Winkler, and Nora Winkler Tew will miss him dearly. Uncle Don was strongly admired by his many nieces and nephews, and he held a special place in his heart for Cheryl, Chris and Cory and their families.
Donald was the son of Scottish immigrants James and Clara Edgar and was born in Brooklyn, graduating from Newtown High School in Elmhurst, Queens. He served in the U.S. Army as a staff sergeant and spent the majority of his career at Kollsman Instrument Corporation, lastly as director of space manufacturing, and received a NASA Apollo Achievement Award for his work on the project that landed the first man on the moon. Don completed a course of study in production planning and management at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and later retired as president of Beta Transformer Technologies. In retirement, he founded The Tea Room at Stony Brook.
An original Brooklyn Dodgers fan, Don later became a lifelong avid Mets and Giants fan. He was a founder and past-president of Northville Beach Civic Association, and was recently photographed as one of the remaining past presidents of that organization. He was an active member of Setauket Presbyterian Church for 54 years we he served as a youth group advisor, elder, and deacon.
For many years Donald divided his time between his home on Northville Beach and his Naples, Florida home. In Naples, he was a member of the Quail Village Country Club where he won many tournaments, as recently as this past spring. Golf was one of his many passions, beginning with his teenage years as a caddy.
Another great passion was beautifying his own and his family’s homes. Don’s most recent deck project was completed 3 weeks ago at his grandson’s house and even more recently, after entering hospice care, he finished up a few railings on the beach stairs with another grandson.
He was a member of the Saint Andrew’s Society of Southwest Florida, and he wore his quilt proudly.