Edward Lee Vetter Mr.

Edward Lee Vetter, 64, of Suwanee, GA, passed away on Feb. 23, 2014 after a 2 year battle with ALS. He was born on Nov. 13, 1949 in Hicksville, OH, the 2nd of 10 children to Cletus and Alice (Schimmoeller) Vetter. He graduated from Hicksville High School in 1967, and earned a Business Administration degree from St. Francis College, Ft. Wayne, IN in 1971. He was employed 30+ years in sales and marketing management first with Aro Corp. and then Dotco/Gardner Denver/ Cooper Industries. Due to his illness, he retired in 2012 from DataAge Corp. He is survived by his wife, H. Elaine Kimpel Vetter, whom he married on Sept. 21, 1974 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Edgerton, OH. Over the years, Ed’s career resulted in moves to Michigan, South Carolina, Illinois, and Georgia. Each new state resulted in numerous wonderful memories and lifelong friends. Ed was a handyman and always had some kind of project going on. Some of his endeavors included building a 3 car garage, remodeling 2 foreclosed houses, countless work on family homes, craft projects, and toys for his children and grandchildren. Ed volunteered many hours for the non-profit organization, Homeworks, in Columbia, SC that did repair work for low income family homes. In 2006, Ed traveled with the group, for a week long project, to Covington, LA after Hurricane Katrina. Ed loved both watching and playing sports and participated on neighborhood tennis and recreational slow-pitch softball teams. He started pitching when he was 15 years old and gave it up at the age of 52 due to another sports injury. His hope was to convince his wife he could play again on a senior league once he retired. In addition to his wife, Ed is survived by his 3 children, Kevin (Jennifer) Vetter of Durham, NH, Karen (Bernie) Sotola of Alpharetta, GA, and Gary Vetter of Suwanee, GA; five grandchildren, Reagan, Sydney, and Brennan Vetter, and Katherine and Elizabeth Sotola; his parents, Cletus and Alice Vetter of Hicksville, OH; siblings Dan (Loraine) Vetter, Hicksville, OH, Beth (Tony) Shininger, Sherwood, OH, Mary (Leo) Shininger, Defiance, OH, Dennis (Sheryl) Vetter, Hicksville, OH, Tony (Cheryl) Vetter, Bowling Green, OH, Sharon (Tom) Streng, Indian Rock Springs, FL, Sue (James) Ball, Concord, OH, Larry (Amy) Vetter, Ft. Myers, FL, and Jeff (Marge) Vetter, St. Joe, IN; his mother-in-law, Ruth Kimpel of Edgerton, OH; and numerous aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, and in-laws. He was preceded in death by his father-in-law Vernon Kimpel and sister-in-law, Marcia Kimpel Meyer. Ed was a member of St Lawrence Catholic Church in Lawrenceville, GA and a 4th degree member of the Knights of Columbus. The family will receive visitors at Wages & Sons Funeral Home in Lawrenceville, GA on Thursday, February 27th from 2-4pm and 5-8pm with the rosary and prayer service at 7:30 pm that evening. A Funeral Mass will be held at St. Lawrence Catholic Church, Lawrenceville, GA on Friday, February 28th at 11am with the Reverend Al Jowdy officiating. Also, a Mass celebrating Ed’s life will be held at a later date at St. Michaels Church in Hicksville, OH. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the ALS Foundation, 1955 Cliff Valley Way, Suite 116, Atlanta, GA 30329. The family wishes to express their gratitude to Homestead Hospice for their excellent care and to all the family and friends who have helped Ed deal with his illness.