Edward K. Roundy G’70 died on March 28, 2023, in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire.
(The following was provided by the Baker-Gagne Funeral Home – Wolfeboro on April 2, 2023)
Edward K. Roundy G’70
Edward Kimball Roundy Sr. passed away peacefully in his home on March 28th 2023, at age 96. Born on September 19th, 1926, Edward was the son of Richard A. and Helen Kimball Roundy of Beverly, Massachusetts. Edward was the third of five children in a tight-knit family.
Edward graduated from Beverly High School in 1944. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1947 where he was involved in the Naval Air Corps Program. He earned a master’s degree in education from Harvard University in the spring of 1948 and married his high school sweetheart, Martha Tucker, that August.
A dedicated lifelong educator, Edward taught math at Exeter High School in 1948, where he became Assistant Principal in 1955 and served as Principal from 1958 to 1963. An avid skier, Edward began his coaching career with the Exeter High School ski club from 1950-1963. He was involved in many volunteer pursuits while living in Exeter, including as a scoutmaster.
In 1963, Edward, Martha, and their three children moved from Exeter to Wolfeboro, NH. Edward became the first principal of Kingswood Regional High School. In 1967, Edward returned to teaching math at Kingswood. He earned a master’s degree in mathematics in the summers, graduating from Bowdoin in 1970. In addition to teaching full-time, he coached boys’ skiing and cross-country and girls’ tennis teams. A dynamic and caring coach, Edward led the boys’ ski team to become Class B Champions in 1968, Division 2 runners up in 1969 and 1970, champions in 1971 and 1972, and Division 1 runners up in 1973. The boys’ cross country team won Class I championships in 1974, 1975, and 1976 under his leadership. He was faculty advisor to the National Honors Society and the Landscape Club at Kingswood. After his retirement from teaching in 1986, Edward served as Director of Adult Education for the Governor Wentworth Regional School District and coached ski jumping. Many summers Edward painted houses with school colleagues.
Edward was very active in civic pursuits throughout Wolfeboro. He served as president of the Rotary and volunteered with the Wolfeboro Area VNA, Carroll County Mental Health, Wolfeboro Conservation Commission, Land Bank of Wolfeboro-Tuftonboro, and Kingswood Alumni Association. He was named the first Lions Club Citizen of the Year in 1975.
Beloved in the Wolfeboro and Exeter communities, Edward was most revered by his family. Edward is survived by his loving wife, Martha, three children, Kim and his wife, Vicki, of Barrington, NH; Glenn and his wife, Jane, of Hamilton, MA; and Jane of Owls Head, ME, five grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and a large number of friends-who-feel-like-family-members. Selfless, friendly, and down-to-earth, Edward cared deeply for others and loved spending time with friends and family. Generations of Roundys feel both the immense gratitude of knowing him and the immeasurable magnitude of his loss. The family is grateful for the wonderful care he received from the compassionate staff at Granite VNA.
In his free time and particularly in retirement, Edward spent much time in his garden, resulting in very ambitious plantings and bountiful harvests of fruits and vegetables. He passed this love of gardening onto his children and passed produce onto grateful neighbors and friends.
Edward loved hiking, skiing, sledding, spending time at the family cabin in Jackson, and camping trips in the family’s Volkswagen Westphalia. Edward skied until age 92, finally retiring after consecutive years of breaking his ribs on the slopes and still enjoying every minute of it. Rites of passage within the Roundy family included camping at Dolly Copp, participating in the Smith River Canoe Race, learning to ski at Abenaki, hiking Mount Washington, skiing Tuckermans Ravine, yelling like a banshee while tobogganing down questionably large hills, engaging (maybe cheating) in cutthroat Easter egg hunts, and participating in rotten tomato wars. Favorite destinations in the camper included the National Parks, Alaska, the Outer Banks, Lancaster County, and stops along the way to visit friends and family.
Edward cannot be aptly described without mentioning his sense of humor and mischief. Edward’s partner in crime was a 1928 Ford Phaeton named Charlie. The two vied for who could make more noise coasting down Main Street, driving to Carry Beach, and participating in the 4th of July Parade. Edward loved Bailey’s ice cream, rhubarb punch, and flipping cakes at birthday parties while the rest of the family egged him on. Though he lived a long time, Edward maintained a child’s sense of wonder, humor, and mischief. Edward taught all those who knew him how to embrace challenges, learn new things, love selflessly, enjoy a good story, laugh, and live life to the fullest.