Shrewsbury/Holden – Edward M. Shindle, 93, a resident of the Shrewsbury Crossings Senior Living Community, died at home Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2011. His wife of 61 years, Margaret (Gilfillan) Shindle, died in 2002, and his grandson, Matthew E. Friel, died in 2004.
He is survived by two daughters, Elaine Shindle of Wakefield and Janet Friel of North Falmouth; a son, Edward M. Shindle and his wife Michele (Lindfors) of Holden; and eight beloved grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren who adored him.
Born in 1918 in Gloucester City, N.J., the only child of Elizabeth Jane (Bastian) and Edward M. Shindle, he graduated from Gloucester City High School where he was captain of the basketball team and a member of the harmonica band.
Mr. Shindle married his high school sweetheart in 1940 and moved to Bellmawr, N.J., where he worked at the New York Shipyard as a pipe fitter for four years. He was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II, serving in the 1759th Engineer Battalion stationed in the Philippines, part of the European African Middle Eastern Theatre, from 1944-1946. After leaving the army, he returned to Bellmawr.
He was a lifelong member of the Bellmawr Orthodox Presbyterian Church, where he taught Sunday School, served as an Elder and volunteered each summer as a counselor at the French Creek Bible Conference, which was run by the church. He served on the board of directors for the Camden County Christian Day School and was a member of the V.F.W. Post 316 in Little Egg Harbor, N.J.
For 35 years, he worked as a steamfitter and was a member of the Steamfitters Local Union 420 located in Philadelphia. Retiring in 1982 to Tuckerton, N.J., at the Jersey shore, he spent many happy hours fishing and boating. He also enjoyed collecting coins and stamps, and loved visiting his grandchildren on Cape Cod and teaching them how to fish. In 2006, he moved to Holden to be closer to his family and attended Chaffin Congregational Church.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend a calling hour Monday, Oct. 10, from 1 to 2 p.m., followed by a Celebration of Life at 2 p.m. at the Miles Funeral Home, 1158 Main St., Holden. Burial will be private in New Jersey.
In lieu of flowers, the family request donations be made to The New England Center for Children, 33 Turnpike Rd., Southborough, MA 01772-2108 (www.necc.org) or to Beacon Hospice, Inc., 529 Main St., Suite 101, Charlestown, MA 02129 (www.beaconhospice.com).
To share a memory or leave an on-line condolence, visit www.milesfuneralhome.com.
