Edward Ephraim Magnuson passed away peacefully on June 16, 2016. He was 90 years old.

Ed was born Dec. 2, 1925, in Arlington, Mass., the fifth of eight children of Swedish immigrant parents, Ephraim and Gerda Magnuson. He attended Arlington High School and was drafted upon graduation. He served in World War II as a seaman first class aboard the destroyer USS Benner deployed in the Pacific, and while he did not define himself by his Naval service, he was proud of his role as captain's talker.

After the war he attended New Preparatory School in Cambridge. Ed chose to join his father in the family business, Magnuson & Larson Inc., a textbook illustrating company in Cambridge, Mass. He went on to lead the company after his father's sudden death. Ed developed a strong professional relationship with many of the prominent textbook publishing houses and the company produced graphics for hymnals and textbook illustrations for many of the scientific books used in primary through post-secondary education. He loved being a part of Harvard Square life.

On Sept. 19, 1953, he married Dorothy Margaret Lindestrand of Watertown, Mass., and they moved to Jason Street in Arlington, and later to Belmont, Mass., where they raised four daughters. Ed always loved the coast of Maine, and in 1990 he and Dorothy moved to Camden, where he would live out the rest of his life by the sea. He spent countless days enjoying the trails of Merryspring Nature Center and Camden Hills State Park.

He will be remembered for his love for his family and the joy he found in his children and grandchildren, who will always smile when they see a roll of Necco wafers and remember the "guess which hand" game that he played with them. Although he never had a dog as a child, Ed developed a strong and loving attachment to the two dogs he and Dorothy adopted at different times in their later lives, and his family is grateful for the comfort and joy Brandon and Jake provided for many years.

Ed is survived by his wife, Dorothy; his four daughters, Nancy (Geise) of Underhill, Vt., Carolyn (Sienkiewicz) of Huntingtown, Md., Elizabeth (Magnuson) of Charlotte, Vt., and Andrea (Denny) of Rockport, Maine; his 11 grandchildren, Elizabeth and Anne Parmalee, Mathew, Benjamin and Megan Sienkiewicz, Katharine and Eric Mahoney, and Nicholas, Marta, Tor and Britta Denny; his sister, Eleanor (Larson); and his sons-in-law, Peter Geise, Joseph Sienkiewicz, Carl Mahoney and Eric Denny.

The family wishes to extend its heartfelt gratitude to all the staff at Quarry Hill for their tender attention and loving care, especially during his last days.

A remembrance ceremony will be planned at a later date.

Memorial donations may be made to Merryspring Nature Center, 30 Conway Road, Camden, ME 04843.