Edward "Skeeter" Scanlan ‘68 on Jan. 31, 2010 after a 5-year battle with cancer. Edward was brought into this world on July 27, 1946 to Richard "Dick" and Katherine "Kay" (Perusina) Scanlan. His family history is one that is deeply rooted in the Santa Clara Valley dating back to the 1870s. With his father a descendant of Irish immigrants and his mother of Croatian, many old world values were instilled in him from the beginning. He spent a great deal of time while growing up on the family’s ranch in Cupertino that grew apricots, prunes, and cherries. From childhood, his family and friends knew Edward affectionately as "Skeeter." It was evident, at an early age, the love Ed had for building things and working with tools. He was always thinking "outside the box" and coming up with something new. He loved to work on cars with his father and anything mechanical always piqued his interest. As young as the age of 12, Edward made from scratch a walking, talking robot out of household scraps. That landed him an appearance on the Captain Satellite Show which was popular for children in the 1950s. He attended Blackford High School, Santa Clara University, and then upon graduating received his master’s from the University of the Redlands. His creativeness was never ending, enough so that he was offered a job on the Imagination Team that was spearheaded by none other than Walt Disney. As he got older his love for anything mechanical grew. In his teens and into his early 20s he built award-winning slot cars and models, of which two won the Grand National Roadster show in Oakland for his category. With his father being a charter member, Ed was also a member of the West Coast Chapter of the Crosley Club as one of his pastimes was to collect and restore these cars. Eventually Ed found his passion in model trains. From the H.O. Scale to the narrow gauge, live steam that he was hoping to finish that encircles his house. He is known by many as "The man with tracks in his driveway." His love for everything mechanical followed Ed into his work place for many years to follow. He worked at Chemelex on heat tracing for nuclear power plants. In the late 1970s and into the mid-1980s, he worked for the go
vernment at Quantic Industries making parts for the space shuttles. He found his final workplace to be Lifescan in Milpitas of 22 years. Ed is survived by his wife Linda, sons Christopher, Patrick, and Daniel, and his sister Patty Massa.