Obituary of Edward S. Bystran Jr.

Edward Bystran of Aptos passed away February 20^th, after a yearlong battle with cancer. Ed was born in Buffalo, N.Y. on May 22, 1942 to Edward and Sophia (Stukowski) Bystran.  He is survived by his wife, Sharon, of 47 years, three brothers; Dan (Evelyn) of Indianapolis, Larry (Nelly) and Stephen (Andrea) of Buffalo; his wife’s five siblings, their spouses and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.

Ed grew up in the Buffalo area and graduated from the University of Buffalo in 1968 with a degree in electrical engineering.  He worked his way through college as an Erie County Sheriff and city fireman. Following graduation Ed went to work for the National Security Agency (NSA) in Maryland. During his tenure there he obtained his master’s degree in computer science from The George Washington University, Washington, D.C.  He held various positions with NSA in communications to include five years monitoring communications contracts in Silicon Valley in the early 1980’s. After 27 years of government service with NSA he retired in 1995.

In 1997 he and his wife returned to Aptos and have spent the years since involved in community, church and charity work. His major volunteer work was with the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic men’s fraternal organization. He served as treasurer of both the local council and at the chapter level. He spent four years as District Deputy at the Diocese level and for the past 4 years as president of the State Columbian Charities Foundation, a position he resigned from when he became ill.

For more than 25 years, Ed’s hobby was collecting antique and unique corkscrews. This interest led to membership in two international corkscrews collectors’ groups.  He and Sharon traveled the world to attend the meetings and met many interesting people from around the world as a result. His collection incudes over 2000 corkscrew with samples dating back 200 years. He served as treasurer and other positions in both organizations.  International travel also took them to Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand, Peru, Mexico, Central America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Antarctica was the highlight of their world travel.

A Mass of Christian burial will be held at Resurrection Catholic Church in Aptos, on February 27^th, at 11 AM with a luncheon to follow in the church hall. Internment will be in Arlington National Cemetery.

Ed was a brilliant man who lived a full and good life. May he rest in peace.