Edwin Deveaux Dewees

1/13/1942 - 9/25/2026

“Ed, Eddie, Cactus Ed”

The dash between those dates is what matters. What one leaves behind in material goods does not matter. What’s important is the love and legacy left behind.

Nothing Ed Dewees did was small or ordinary.

Born and raised in Norristown, Pennsylvania, Ed graduated from Norristown High School, class of 1959; where he met his first wife Sandra (Ridge), the eventual mother of his children Jeff and Kelly. He joined the United States Air Force, then attended Pierce Junior College in Philadelphia upon discharge and graduated with an AS in business administration in 1963. Ed continued his education while working, earning a BS in business administration from the Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science in 1975. All of this was done with two kids at home.

His career in Human Resources spanned the country and included manufacturing, hospitals and health care systems. In Pennsylvania, it included Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, Bryn Mawr and Reading Hospitals. After departing from the East Coast, Ed later served in the same capacity for a short time in Houston and later in Los Angeles at several hospitals. While working in Los Angeles he met his second wife, Joan Jessop. The couple wed on Valentine’s Day of 1996.

Later, Ed traveled the world while working for Gallup, Inc., in major international cities like Frankfurt, Tokyo, Beijing, Singapore, and Bangkok. But with all that travel, there was one small town that stole his heart. A little place in the high desert of California, Pear Blossom, about a half a mile from the Devil’s Punchbowl and the San Andreas Fault. He once said, “If you’re not living on the edge, you’re just taking up space.” We think he meant that literally.

He made time to take up the hobbies of photography, antiquing and birdwatching and he was passionate about all three. He created a legacy of birdwatchers who can attribute their hobby today to his love of birds.

Ed was born about a century too late. He would have loved being a cowboy in the Old West. His love of anything Old West was boundless. He enjoyed the desert, the mountains and all the wildlife offerings it presented. He loved Western movies and it didn’t really matter who the lead actor was, though he had a soft spot for Clint Eastwood.

Ed was a collector. He was exceptionally good at collecting golden retrievers. He was passionate about Americana antiques, especially red ware, and anything Pennsylvania Dutch. He was a passionate reader, with hundreds of books in his collection. He enjoyed swapping stories with friends, old or just-met, usually over a bottle of red or a good bourbon. Cigars were often present.

Ed was a no-nonsense, courageous, big-hearted, generous, tell-it-like-it-is kind of guy.

He was a one-of-a-kind father, husband, and friend. If you knew him, you didn’t forget him.

To honor Ed, consider one of these activities:

Take a hike

Go birdwatching

Uncork a bottle of California red

Read a novel ‘til midnight

Light up a cigar

Rescue a dog or donate to a local shelter or rescue

Our hearts are broken, and we miss him terribly.

His loving family,

Joan Jessop, wife of 30 years

Kids

Jeffrey Dewees

Kelly Dewees & Kristin Carroll

Jeffrey Jessop & Lori Jessop

Grandson, Michael Jessop

and Lucy