SNOHOMISH — He was a guy who made just about everybody his friend.
Longtime Snohomish Co-op General Manager Ed Eldredge died after a snowmobiling accident in Yellowstone National Park on Feb. 15. He was 54.
Eldredge is credited with bringing the farmer-owned co-op back from the brink of failure. As he went about his work, he became a familiar face around Snohomish, Monroe and his hometown of Duvall. More than 200 people attended a March 5 celebration of his life.
“He had this way of making people feel special and important,” said Stacy Eldredge, his wife of 27 years. “Whether you knew him for five minutes or for years, he could make you feel like you were his best friend. And it was genuine, there was nothing fake about him.”
He made connections through his involvement with sports, including as part of the East King County Soccer Referee Association, and at Holy Innocents Catholic Church in Duvall.
Eldredge brought charisma to his work, too.
The Snohomish Co-op has, since 1935, supplied fuel, feed and agricultural supplies to members. When Eldredge was hired by its five-member board in 2004, it was losing money and there was talk of shutting down.
“Ed … could navigate the politics of a board of directors while running a business,” said John Beal, a board member since 2002. “He had a huge undertaking in trying to resurrect the co-op.”
Eldredge went to right to work, revamping inventory and building relationships. Business had dwindled as local farms shrank. So Eldredge changed the co-op’s focus to serve more small and hobby farms.
“Now, it thrives on those farms,” said Beal, of Woodland Meadow Farms and Dairyland near Snohomish.
In 2013, Eldredge led the opening of a second co-op in the space that previously housed Monroe Farm and Feed.
Today, both are profitable, pay dividends and combined have about 5,500 members.
A photo in the Snohomish store shows Eldredge with a bag of Fritos hanging from his mouth and a case full of them in his lap. That was his Christmas gift from employees.
“He always had to have his Fritos,” Stacy, 49, said.
He usually prefered organic foods and fruits and vegetables he’d grown in his home garden in Duvall. He liked to know exactly what he was eating and where it came from, Stacy said. But that didn’t count for Fritos or Coors Light beer.
Otherwise, the Eldredge family did healthy activities such as playing sports, enjoying the outdoors and taking trips.
Beal, 36, said Ed was fiercely competitive, even on their “beer-league” softball team. “He never did anything half-assed,” Beal said. “He was a hoot.”
That’s not how Stacy saw the quiet Ed when they first met. At 22, she saw him as a “rebound guy,” not husband material. They were working for the same company shortly after Ed graduated from Washington State University.
At 27, he was managing a Bosley’s Pet Food Mart in Kirkland. Eventually, he became general manager of the Canadian company.
They married in 1989 and bought their home in Duvall. They raised two daughters, Kendall, 23, and Brenna, 22.
Stacy said she was the planner and Ed was the guy who made it all happen.
It didn’t matter what the job was, he’d figure it out and get it done. He built the barn and arena for their three horses, goats, chickens, ducks, peacocks, a parakeet and two Australian shepherds.
He was funny, too. Eldredge amused his wife, sending random, funny photos throughout the day. If he was at the eye doctor, he’d put on funny glasses and strike a pose.
“He was like the selfie king,” she said
Romance wasn’t lost on him. Ed often came home with flowers, Haagen Dazs ice cream or Kit Kat bars for his wife. On cold mornings, he’d etch hearts and loving messages in the frost on her car window.
The day before he died, Stacey had Valentine’s Day dinner at their favorite restaurant, Silver Spoon Thai in Redmond. Ed took a break from his guys trip to Montana to call and keep her company as she enjoyed her garlic chicken.
He was stoked because they’d had a “bluebird day,” a sunny snowmobile session in Big Sky Country.
He bought his first snowmobile at Christmas, a red-and-white Ski Doo. It was something he’d wanted for a long time, Stacey said.
“He was like a little kid learning a new sport,” Stacy said. “He was loving it.”
She takes comfort in knowing he was living life to its fullest with “no regrets” when he died.
She has a different way of looking at things. When she comes across a keepsake, she takes in the good memory, instead of focusing on the fact that there will be no more.
Mornings are a reminder that he’s gone. The first one to brush their teeth always would leave paste on the other’s toothbrush.
“I was so blasted lucky to have him as long as I did,” she said. “In my heart of hearts, I think we made a lifetime of memories. So I have to be happy.”
Beal said it’ll likely take the Snohomish Co-op board a while to find the right person to take over as general manager. But Ed set everybody up so the co-op will running while they take the time.
“That’s his legacy,” Beal said. “Everything he did won’t just fade.”
Amy Nile: 425-339-3192; anile@heraldnet.com. Twitter:@AmyNileReports.
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