Edward Bernard Griesbaum, of Springfield, Missouri, died August 4, 2026, just weeks after celebrating his 100th birthday. He was born June 9, 1926, in St. Louis, Missouri.

It is difficult to summarize Ed’s century of life simply by listing the things he did, because what mattered most was the way he lived. Ed never met a stranger. He was genuinely interested in people, quick to offer a hand, and happiest when he could be useful to someone else. He possessed an infectious laugh, an endless curiosity and an enthusiasm for life that stayed with him throughout his 100 years.

During World War II, Ed enlisted in the United States Navy at just 17 years old and initially trained with the Seabees. He was assigned to operate a bulldozer, but there was one problem: Ed weighed only about 150 pounds, and the brand-new machine’s clutch required nearly that much pressure to push it in. Unable to operate the equipment, Ed’s orders to go overseas were canceled, and he was reassigned to finance and disbursing work. It was an unexpected turn that kept him stateside and became his wartime service. Following the war, his path eventually brought him to Springfield, where he met Sophia Francka. They married on May 30, 1951, beginning a marriage that would last nearly 73 years, until Sophia’s death in 2024.

Ed's devotion to Sophia was evident throughout their life together. Early in his career, he traveled throughout southwest Missouri selling dairy equipment and became a remarkably successful salesman. When the company later decided to relocate to St. Louis and asked Ed to move with it, he declined. Springfield was close to Sophia's home and family, and Ed had no intention of taking her away from them. Family always mattered more.

That decision certainly didn't limit Ed's ambitions. Over the years, he pursued enough careers, businesses, hobbies, and volunteer activities for several lifetimes. After leaving the dairy-equipment business, he joined the United States Postal Service, beginning as a driver and relief carrier and eventually becoming a vehicle operations manager responsible for postal vehicles throughout a large portion of Missouri. He retired from the Postal Service in 1992.

But retirement was never really part of Ed's vocabulary.

He became a locksmith, worked as an insurance inspector, operated a mobile vehicle-washing business, grew thousands of walnut trees on his farm, built and sold wooden whirligigs, worked with his son's school-equipment business and traveled with Sophia to conventions throughout the country. He earned degrees in biology and public administration and seemed perpetually interested in learning something new.

Service, however, was the thread that connected much of Ed's life.

For more than three decades, he served with the Springfield Police Reserve, eventually helping lead and develop the organization into a substantial volunteer force. In describing police work years later, Ed said its purpose wasn't the glory of putting someone in jail. To him, it was a way of improving your own life while doing something to improve the lives of others.

That philosophy extended far beyond police work.

Ed devoted nearly three decades to CASA, serving as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for children and families in difficult circumstances. He also worked with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, helping children without parents or traditional family support establish plans for their education. Looking back over all of his volunteer activities, Ed identified his work with children as among the most important things he had done.

He was also deeply involved with the Springfield-Greene County Library and its Friends of the Library, helping strengthen its volunteer program, book sales and support for the library system. He served his community in numerous other ways, including election supervision and service on civic boards.

Ed believed that giving wasn't limited to money. He gave his time as readily as anything else. He was a longtime blood donor and was recognized for reaching the extraordinary milestone of 100 gallons donated. He and Sophia also volunteered their time at the blood bank, once again finding a way to serve others together.

Their Catholic faith was another important part of their lives. Ed and Sophia generously supported their parish and the Diocese over many years. Their gifts helped provide the covered walkway between the church and parking area, renovations to the rectory and restoration of Mary's prayer garden. They also helped support Catholic education for families who otherwise might not have been able to afford it. They gave quietly and generously, not for recognition, but because they believed they were fortunate enough to help.

For all that Ed accomplished, those who knew him may remember something simpler: his joy.

His laugh was unmistakable. His family still remembers going with him to see Beverly Hills Cop in 1984. During the opening chase scene, Ed began laughing so hard that people throughout the theater stopped watching Eddie Murphy and turned around to watch Ed instead. Red-faced and roaring with laughter, Ed didn't care in the least. He was having a wonderful time.

That was Ed.

He enjoyed people. He enjoyed stories. He enjoyed learning something new and figuring out how something worked. He could be serious when seriousness was required, but he never lost his ability to find humor in life. And when he saw someone who needed help, his instinct was to help.

Ed once described the financial philosophy he and Sophia followed throughout their marriage simply: if they couldn't afford something, they didn't buy it. And when good fortune came their way, they looked for ways to help someone else.

It is a simple philosophy, but it says a great deal about both of them.

Ed was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Sophia Francka Griesbaum, who died April 2, 2024.

He is survived by his children, Chris Griesbaum and his wife Jill; Ted Griesbaum and his wife Raquel; and Catherine Griesbaum and her husband Rob; his grandchildren, Gabriel Griesbaum and his wife Angela, Isaac Griesbaum and Robine, Julie Martinez and her husband Jeff, and Drew Hull and his wife Paige; and his great-grandchildren Gregg, Gerald and Hazel.

Ed Griesbaum lived 100 years, but the measure of his life isn't simply its remarkable length. It can be found in the children whose lives were made a little better because he stood beside them, the organizations strengthened because he volunteered, the community he helped build, the family he loved, and the countless people who were happier because Ed Griesbaum had entered their lives.

And for those fortunate enough to have heard it, there will always be the memory of that laugh.

Memorial Mass will be Tuesday, September 15, 2026 at 11:00 AM at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. Burial will follow in St. Wenceslaus Cemetery in Bolivar, MO at 2:00 PM.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to St. Wenceslaus Cemetery, 708 W Division Bolivar Missouri 65613.