Obituary of Edward Albert Tjarks, Jr.
Tjarks, Jr., Edward Albert (Ed), of Sarasota Florida, passed away November 23rd, 2022, at age 95. He is survived by his wife, Susan Carroll Richardson-Tjarks, her son Russell and his wife Amber Wasendorf. His sons Edward Francis Tjarks, his wife Jill Tjarks. Christopher Allen Tjarks and his wife Suzanne Tjarks. And his grandchildren, Ashley Jane Ruble, Kirsten Anne Tjarks, MacKenzie Bryce Chitwood, Audrey Wasendorf, Zackary James Wasendorf (preceeding him in death) and Erik Wasendorf.
Ed was born in Greatneck NY to Edward Albert Tjarks Sr. and Marie A. Tjarks on October 18th, 1927. He graduated from Florida Southern College in Lakeland Florida with a B.S. in Chemistry.
Ed lived a very long and accomplished life as a successful businessman, mainly in chemical sales from 1951-1993. He worked for several companies throughout his career ranging from Squibb Group in Mexico City to Williams Company Oil Exploration in Tulsa Oklahoma. He finished his career and retired from a subsidiary of BP, AIRCO Gases, in Murray Hill, NJ. Upon retiring Ed moved to Sarasota, Florida where he lived the remainder of his life.
Ed found time after retirement to volunteer in many positions at Saint Armands Key Lutheran Church. He enjoyed ushering at Sunday services and meeting new people. He assisted with counting the church donations, helping with the Church Board, and supported his wife Susan in her choir activities.
Ed had a variety of hobbies, one of his favorites being model trains. Special to him were his Tri-ang Railway model trains which are modeled after trains in England. He often put together train sets for fun during the holiday seasons around the Christmas Tree. He made these from his early years as a child until his later in life. Ed enjoyed traveling and one of the benefits from frequent traveling as a businessman was collecting airline miles. He would use these to fly overseas to the UK and even flew on the Concorde twice. When in England he would ride the rail lines, one of his favorite pastimes. Also, he liked collecting stamps, coins, and John Deere items. He had a special fondness for animals, especially Corgis, and usually had a cat or two around the house.
Ed will be dearly missed by all as he made such a positive impact on so many lives. He was a devoted Husband, Father, Uncle, Grandfather and Great Grandfather. Services celebrating his life will be held at Saint Armands Key Lutheran Church on December 15th, 2022 at 1pm. In lieu of flowers, please direct donations to Sunshine Corgi Rescue (sunshinecorgirescue.org), Sarasota Hospice House or the charity of your choice in honor of Edward Albert Tjarks Jr.
