Ed died of a heart attack Oct. 13, 2005, at his home in Stanley, Va.

Born Edward Welling in Yonkers, N.Y., Ed was adopted by his mother's second husband, Clarence Nykwest. At Princeton, Ed participated in theater. Afterward, he served in the Coast Guard, sailing around the world twice and spending six months in Antarctica.

In the late 1960s, Ed covered the Washington Senators baseball team for the Washington Star. Later, he ran a newspaper in Mount Vernon, Iowa. In 1976, he and his wife, Beverly, acquired the Limestone Independent News, in Bartonville, Ill., and ran it themselves.

From the mid-1980s on, Ed lived in Alexandria, Va., and in Stanley, describing his occupation variously as author, poet, historian, and handyman. He was a frequent contributor of humorous notes and letters to newspapers and other periodicals, including a poetic lament to PAW after Bill Bradley's loss of the Democratic presidential nomination in 2000. He also ran an online service offering assistance with writing projects.

Beverly died in July 2005. Ed is survived by his daughters, Rebecca and Katherine Nykwest, and by a sister and brother. They have the class' condolences.

The Class of 1966

Class Year: 
Undergraduate Class of 1966