The Stovebolt Site Forums The Back Office The Passing Lane - Stovebolt Memorials Ed "EdPruss" Pruss :: Sept 20, 1942 – Feb 12, 2025

Ed passed away February of this year. He was such a knowledgeable person and so helpful to me.

He had been helping me with my 1950 Chevy COE steering geometry. Not that long ago I tried to reach him but his Earthlink email address bounced. Then I found out that he had passed.

HERE IS his obit.

Thank you my friend. Rest in peace.

Marty



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Edited by Stovebolt Staff,
September 1, 2025
We wanted to update this initial post of Marty's to include a little more info on Ed.
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Ed "EdPruss" Pruss was quite a Big Bolts Stovebolter as you could tell from his signature line:

>> 1937 GMC T-18 w/ DD 4-53T, RTO-610, 6231 aux., '95 GMC running gear, full disc brakes, power steering, 22.5 wheels and tires.
>> 1947 GMC 1 ton w/ 302, NP-540, 4wd, full width Blazer front axle.
>> 1954 GMC 630 w/ 503 gasser, 5 speed, ex fire truck, shortened WB 4', install 8' bed.
>> 1955 GMC 370 w/270, 420 4 speed, grain, dump bed truck from ND. Works OK.
       I added a few pix further down this thread!

Ed joined the Bolt in June 2011 and it seems his last post was the day he passed. In his Stovebolt profile, Ed listed his occupation as "School bus driver" but he was much more than that. His Obit mentioned, :"... Ed was good at gathering and fixing old trucks, tractors, engines, or anything mechanical. His mechanical and fabrication skills kept him awake at night, innovating tools if they didn’t exist."

We found some other neat surprises in His Obit .... No wonder Ed had some helpful knowledge to share with our gang and many, many others. He roamed many places but he planted himself in Longmont, CO.

For example:

"Airplane enthusiast, lifetime explorer, geologist, and real estate agent; enjoyed camping, scouting, and backpacking in the Sierra Mountains. Studied geology (earned his PhD). During graduate school he spent many hours in the mountains near Cody, Wyoming for his thesis work. During those years, Ed took flying lessons from an old cowboy at an airport outside the city. They had to chase antelope from the dirt landing strip and those flight lessons would change the course of his life."

He even traveled with scientists to Antarctica via New Zealand.

"(He) lived on a small farm in Boulder, Colorado and life on the farm was wonderful for Ed and his family, and engine, firetruck, tractor, and animal collections all grew. ... He loved fishing, camping, backpacking, and exploring with family and was at his happiest sleeping under the stars."

"Ed loved singing in the choir at Grace Commons church in Boulder for years and frequented the Longmont Symphony. As a faithful member of the Vintage Aircraft Association and Antique Airplane Associations in Longmont, he had a passion for anything related to antique airplanes."

There's even more but you'll just have to go read it ... The Obit

Truly the world was a better place while Ed was here.

Thanks for letting us know.

Ed was a real character and very interesting to meet in person. I had the rare pleasure of camping with him at the ATHS National show in South Bend about 15 years ago. Actually, he camped with me ... The South Bend show was a wet one. We had so much water coming through the camp site that Billy Marlow took Ed and Grigg in to his coach where they shared the "guest quarters" with me. I forget who snored louder -- Ed or Grigg ....

Anyway, he will be missed on Stovebolt as he was always very helpful to those working on big bolts.

Rest easy, Ed!

I had the distinct pleasure of working closely with Ed when his big GMC fire truck broke down near my home in middle Tennessee. He had bought it in Cullman Alabama, about 80 miles south of my farm. I did a rescue run, got him and the truck back to my place near the Tennessee/Alabama state line and kept the truck for a while, doing some emergency repairs while Ed headed back to Colorado. I drove the truck to the Kansas City reunion, with my motorcycle strapped down on the bed- - - -Ed flew in a week later and drove it the rest of the way home. I took a tour through several states on the bike headed back to Tennessee. Quite a road trip!
Jerry

Ed was apparently a 'Bolter to the very end. He was online here the day he died. That's dedication to Stovebolt.

I wasn't familiar with Ed, but from reading his obit and the comments, he was someone I would have enjoyed meeting.

RIP, Ed

I was saddened to hear of Ed's passing. While I had never actually met him he was a great source of information. My current project on my Truck is the direct result of his input. He will be missed. RIP..

I heard of Ed's passing on Facebook shortly after it happened. I was shocked and saddened to hear of it.

RIP Ed. We will miss your Stovebolt visits.

R.I.P.

RIP Ed. The sharing of your many skills and wide knowledge will be very much missed.

Yes, RIP Ed. I’ve learned much from your posting and will continue to learn as long as this repository of knowledge continues. Thank You for sharing and helping!

RonR

Sorry this took so long. Gdads51 found a few images that go along with Ed's signature line.

Ed had so many snow pictures, I wondered if that was part of those requests for Stovebolts in the Snow campaign.

Truly a great contributor to our hobby and Stovebolt community. We will surely miss him. Rest in peace Ed.

For those who wondered about some of Ed's posts, HERE IS A LINK that shows over 255 pages of them going back to June 2011.

What a full life Ed had! I’m betting Ed will continue to enjoy his life; the one after this one!