Edd Murriel Van Hooser

Edd Murriel Van Hooser, 93, entered eternal rest on April 6, 2019 in Sedona, AZ
Public visitation will take place on Friday, April 26, 2019 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at Greer’s Mortuary Chapel, 2725 W. SR 89 A, Sedona, AZ 86336.
Services celebrating the life of Edd Murriel Van Hooser will be held at 10:30 am, Saturday, April 27, 2019, at the Church of the Red Rocks, 54 Bowstring Drive, Sedona, AZ 86336, followed by interment at the Sedona Community Cemetery, Pine Drive, Sedona, AZ 86336. Rev. Dr. Cindy Parker will officiate. Our family will then receive friends at Judi’s Restaurant, 40 Soldiers Pass Rd., Sedona, AZ 86336 immediately after whichever of the services friends choose to attend.
Edd, or Murriel, as his parents and siblings’ families knew him, was born December 28, 1925, at Hurricane, LA, near Arcadia, to Edd Van Hooser and Lessie Mae Chandler Van Hooser, the sixth of seven children. Edd resided in Sedona since the summer of 1996, after moving with his wife, Jane Rundle Van Hooser, from Dallas, TX.
Edd enjoyed exciting and varied careers in the oil and gas industry, during which he lived in Maracaibo and San Tomé, Venezuela; Bogotá, Colombia; Houston, TX; Madrid, Spain; London, England; and Dallas, TX. Edd’s work took him to no fewer than 88 countries in Asia, Africa and South America. Edd retired in 1984 as Vice President of Cactus International, an offshore drilling company operating in the Gulf of Mexico; this was a venture started by Jane’s brother, Dick Rundle.
Edd served his country in the Army during World War II from June 1944 until discharged on May 11, 1945. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 275th Regiment, 70th Infantry Division of the 7th Army as a member of an anti-tank crew and as a rifleman. His unit came under intense artillery shelling as it approached the German stronghold of Saarbrucken. Edd earned the Bronze Star for meritorious achievement in a combat zone and the Combat Infantryman Badge, among others.
Upon discharge from the Army, Edd attended Louisiana Tech in Ruston, LA, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. Upon graduation Edd flew to Venezuela to begin his career with Gulf Oil Company in February, 1950. Edd met and married his wife of 45 years, Jane R. Van Hooser, in Maracaibo.
Edd was predeceased by his beloved wife, Jane, in August, 1997; his parents; three sisters, Gladys Abercrombie, Clarice Bramlett and Avis Volentine; his brother, Murry Van Hooser; his son-in-law, Michael Taylor Shelby; and long-time Sedona companion, Lee Philips.
Edd is survived by his daughter, Diana Jane Shelby of Houston, TX; son Stephen Wesley Van Hooser and wife Juli J. Van Hooser of Denver, CO; grandson James Chandler Van Hooser and wife Stephanie Osan of Telluride, CO; granddaughters Elizabeth Jane Shelby Hurt and husband Eric Thomas Hurt of Houston, TX; Meredith Mae Van Hooser of Plano, TX; and Sarah Seay Shelby and wife Brooke Lindsay Shelby of Houston, TX; great-grandchildren, Thomas Michael Hurt and Clara Jane Hurt; sisters Shirley McMillin, of Carthage, MS and Marie McGhee, of Port Orange, FL; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Our family wishes to thank Elva Montenegro, Gancarla Aguilar, Laura Gonzalez, and Dodie Chalmers for their tireless and loving care of our dad and grandfather over the years. Our family also wishes to thank the professionals of Aviant Hospice Yavapai who made Dad comfortable during the last twenty months of his life. And our family is forever grateful to Alice Simmons, owner, and staff of Judi’s Restaurant where Dad ate two meals a day (except when closed on Sundays) for well over 18 years.
In lieu of flowers, our family suggests memorials be made to the Telluride Fire Protection District, PO Box 1645, 131 W. Columbia Ave., Telluride CO 81435, or the charity of your choice. As some of you may know, Edd and Jane's family cabin at Trout Lake, located just south of Telluride, has been in the family since 1991. This group of volunteer firefighters saved the cabin on July 4th, 2014, from a fire that had started at a cabin located less than 100 yards away. The volunteers pumped water from Trout Lake up past the cabin to temporary holding tanks set up on an elevated ridge. They worked tirelessly all night long to save the Van Hooser family cabin.
Flowers may be sent to the funeral home or church.