Edmund "Eddie" Dyga

Edmund "Eddie" Dyga was a man who loved to learn. One of his favorite pastimes was reading the encyclopedia and reference books as a means to quench his thirst for acquiring knowledge. No wonder his friends called Eddie, "The ED-ucator"! As daughter Loretta once quipped, ""He was always spilling out knowledge. If you mentioned someplace like the Philippines, he could rattle off the population figures or the economy or the type of government they have." Another favorite activity that Eddie enjoyed was sports. He loved to follow Orchard View, Catholic Central, and Muskegon High School sports and attending Muskegon Fury hockey games. But he was not a fan of watching sports on TV, not Eddie! Instead, he caught the excitement of the games by listening to the radio and using his imagination. After Eddie retired in 1977, he spent his leisure time walking. He often walked daily; however, unlike others that take up this pastime, Eddie took walking to a new level, by walking all over Muskegon! Daughter Loretta recounts that one time her dad even walked from Lakeside to Fruitport and back, a walk that is 20 miles roundtrip!! Bus riding through town was another favorite pastime. Eddie's enthusiasm for knowledge was expressed in his activities, through reading and exploring the world around him. The year, 1921 was an exciting year! The 1920's were a decade that had it all! This decade was a time where the old and the new clashed, and that clash caused some of the most memorable events in United States history. A the beginning of the decade, Americans were paralyzed by the "red scare", limits were put on the number of immigrants allowed to come into the United States, and the Volstead Act became effective, making the sale of a drink containing one-half ounce of alcohol unlawful. The early part of the decade, with President Harding at the helm, also saw the end of World War 1 and a tremendous growth in technology, as a result, the country became smaller as the popularity of automobiles, radios, and movies exploded. Thanks to Henry Ford, Americans could buy a Ford car for around $300! While political and economic events were occurring, Americans were also relaxing and searching for new ways to relax and have fun. Leisure activities included playing the all American sport, baseball and competing in endurance races, such as dance marathons and flagpole sitting. In 1921, when they were not dancing the latest dance craze, Americans flocked to the movies to see Charlie Chaplin's, The Kid, or The Sheik, the film that shot America's heart-throb, Rudolph Valentino to stardom. The popular song of the day, "Ain't We Got Fun", was surely the "bees-knees" and clearly set the tone for the decade, known as the "Roaring Twenties". Although 1921 brought challenges and promises, for John and Sophie (Hulubeck) Dyga of Muskegon, Michigan, it also brought reason for celebration. It was in that same year that the couple welcomed their child, Edmund Dyga, into their lives on September 24, 1921. Eddie was the third of five children (two brothers Leo and Max and two sisters, Helen and Albina). The family of seven lived near the family business, "Dyga Coalyard" on Henry, near Laketon. His father sold and delivered coal for home heating. Growing up, Eddie was extremely athletic and played football and baseball for St. Michael's Catholic School. So talented, stories of his athletic abilities are still recounted by those seeing him play! Sadly, when Eddie was 15 years old, his father, John, passed away. To help out his mother and siblings, Eddie quit school to work at the family business along side his older brother Leo and his mother. With the passing of John and the popularity of heating homes with coal waning, times were very hard for the Dyga family and Sophie sold the family business. When World War II broke out, on August 9, 1940 Eddie joined and proudly served in the Army as a gunner for five years, before being discharged on June 29, 1945. He often told stories of his wartime experiences. One such experience, was when he recounted the day he landed at Normandy. He told how his boat was behind other boats and as the boast ahead of him unloaded men, he talked of how so many men were killed. He talked of how horrible it was to wade through the bodies in order to get to shore, at the same time the Germans were shooting from the cliffs above. Even after the war was long over, Eddie maintained contact with his wartime buddies. He also talked of more peaceful experiences he had while in Europe, such as the beautiful landscape, landmarks, and history of Europe and seeing such countries as Iceland. Shortly after being discharged from the army, Eddie met a young woman, a divorcee with a small son, through his sisters Helen and Albina. Within no time at all, Eddie was quite smitten, and quickly fell in love with Claudia and her young son, Larry. In 1946, Eddie married Claudia and adopted two year old Larry. The happy family welcomed Loretta two years later in August 1948. The Dyga family grew by leaps and bounds, with the addition of five more children (John, Doug, Eddie, Jr., Cathy and Greg). Cathy was born with Downs Syndrome. Both Eddie and Claudia worked hard to meet the challenges of finding and providing the care and services that Cathy needed. While not an easy task, they were ever diligent in searching for care for Cathy and dedicated their time with the help of others to teach Cathy to walk and talk While raising the family with Claudia, Eddie worked as a laborer at Teledyne Continental Motors, while Claudia stayed home with the seven children. A busy and large household, not much time or money was left for vacations. After 19 years together, the Claudia and Eddie divorced. With this change, Claudia and the children stayed in the family home and Eddie moved into his own place. On his own, Eddie tended to go his own way, a bit of a loner, with time separating him from his children. While he did not always see them regularly, he loved his children and would pop into the lives, time to time. Daughter, Loretta, 17 years old when Eddie and Claudia divorced, worked hard at maintaining ties with her dad. Often, daughter Loretta would take him grocery shopping at Etterman's Grocery in Lakeside where he lived, and he'd buy stuff on sale. His daughter recounted that he would line up grocery bags on the kitchen floor, and when they got full of food, he'd tell her to drop some of the grocery bags by one of her brothers' house. It was Eddie's way. Eddie also enjoyed the athletic accomplishments of his son, Doug, who was a star football at Orchard View High School and a two-time State Heavyweight Wrestling Champion. During Doug's games, Eddie would often come to watch his son play. After the game, Eddie would congratulate his son with a quick handshake and "Good job" and then be on his way. No doubt, Eddie thought his son was a chip of the old block! Eddie never remarried, preferring to live alone and "do things his way". The last four years of his life, Eddie lived in a nursing home. As fate would have it, his former wife, Claudia, was also a resident. Even though he was divorced, he enjoyed visiting with Claudia, even as Alzheimer's increasingly erased any memory she held of her former husband. His time in the nursing home was spent as he had lived his life, marching to his own tune, doing things his way. Daughter Loretta sums her dad up with memory, [my dad], "Was a crusty old man. The aides at the nursing home either loved him or hated him! One day I arrived there and the administrator said 'Your dad's on the warpath today! Thank God you're here!'" After 84 years of a life filled with love, Eddie passed away on Thursday, February 23, 2006. Proud of his Polish heritage, Eddie was a member of V.F.W. Polar Bear Post and Polish Falcon and attended St. Michael's Catholic Church. He was preceded in death by a daughter, Cathy Dyga in 1995, his sister Albina Davis and brother Max Dyga. Eddie will be greatly missed by his children, Loretta (Dan) Varboncoeur of Muskegon, Greg (Laura) Dyga of Muskegon, Eddie (Jan) Dyga of Muskegon, Douglas Dyga of Fremont, John Dyga of Ravenna and Larry (Jamie) Dyga of LasVegas; his nine grandchildren, many great-grandchildren, his brother Leo (Marge) Dyga of Temperance, MI and his sister, Helen Miesch of Muskegon, Michigan. Services will be held on Monday, February 27, 2006 from 11:00 am to 12 noon at Clock Funeral Home. A memorial service will be held at Wesley School. You may read more about Eddie's life and share a favorite memory by visiting www.lifestorynet.com.