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Edward J. Blend II, 86, of Irwin, died Saturday, Dec. 12, 2009, in Baldock Health Care Center. He was born June 24, 1923, in Trafford, Pa. a son of the late Edward J. and Anna (Smith) Blend. He was a fund raiser and public relations person whose efforts aided the Westmoreland County Heart Association, the National Jewish Hospital Foundation and the
development of the Fayette Campus of Penn State University. Ed was also a Packard owner and enthusiast, authoring a book titled "The Magnificent Packard Twelve of Nineteen Thirty Four." He was an Army veteran of World War II, a graduate of Waynesburg College class of 1952 with a bachelor's degree in business administration, a life member of the Classic Car
Club, charter member and organizing chairman of the Western Pennsylvania Region, Classic Car Club of America, a 50-year member of the Antique Auto Club and Packard Automobile Classics. He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Gertrude L. "Trudy" (Grubbs) Blend. Friends will be received from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday December 16, 2009 at the WILLIAM SNYDER FUNERAL HOME, 521 Main St., Irwin, 724-863-1200,
where services will follow at 1 p.m.
Interment with military honors will follow in Union Cemetery, North Huntingdon. Those wishing may contribute to a charity of choice.

I was fortunate enough to know Ed, who was a great storyteller and lived through a lot of Packard history. His father was also a Packard owner and Ed carried on the family tradition. He was a familiar face at Hershey and at AACA events.

The pictures are Ed's 34 V12. Ed is the fellow standing behind the car dressed in light blue. He will be missed in the Packard community.
I am grateful to Stuart Blond and Dave Czirr for forwarding the initial obituary.

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Sorry to hear of another friend of the Packard has past.

It's my loss that I never met Ed Blend, he was widely recognized as the absolute oracle of information on the 1934 Twelves and his book should be part of any serious Packard library. Sadly, I suspect much more Packard information has been lost to us with his passing.

I'm sorry to hear about your friend Randy, truly a great loss to the Packard community.

For those who are interested in the book, it's available at Amazon.com. Rather pricey though.

He was a true gentleman. He did another book that he self-published recently. Some GREAT stories in it.
"One Man's Family: An Exhaustive Vapor Trail Back In Time - An Auto-Autobiography"

His car (pictured above), was sold to a man from Indianapolis, and was shown at Pebble Beach this year. Ed named it, appropriately, Cyrano.

Hello Gentlemen

Truly, Packardom has lost another of it's Champion Standard Bearers. He was a prescient individual, recognizing the intrinsic value of Classic Era Packards at a time when most were still discarding such treasures.

I had the pleasure of meeting Ed Blend only once at Hershey, briefly. Unhappily, I never had an in-depth discussion with him. But, I have been informed and entertained by his writings in both Packard and Classic Car Club publications.

RIP Ed Blend, you'll never be forgotten. I hope Ed is now enjoying his choice of '34 Twelves. If it truly is Heaven, he should have his choice, driving it on a glorious warm sunny day on an uncrowded scenic highway!

Steve

I paid my respects today to Ed and spoke briefly to Trudy. Friend Mel Nelms also stopped to pay his respects and realizing that I might be there brought along Ed's latest book - One Man's Family. In just scanning through it because it has a lot of pictures, the Turnpike story was retold. The opening of the Pa. Turnpike was a great occasion and therefore the politicians wanted to use it as an excuse for publicity. They traveled the Turnpike from Carlisle to Irwin. Many of them were stranded along the way as the Cadillacs, Buicks and Chevrolets gave up the ghost. The Packards, all of which made it to Irwin had to turn around and go back to fetch the Lt. Governor and other dignitaries. The news of this was published far and wide and made GM very unhappy. But don't accept my version of this - read it for yourself in Ed's book.

One other fact that Ed was adamant about - Packard introduced bluedot taillights in 1932 or 33. Ed's 34 had them - long before "rodders" started installing them on Chevies.

There is also a picture of Ed and John Lloyd in the book. John was also a resident of Irwin and a Packard owner. John died October 9th of this year.

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Randy thanks for the info on Ed's book. I shall have to find a copy. Also we should add it the Bookshelf for others to discover if it is not already there.

Sad news indeed, but "One Man's Family" is a great way to get to know Mr. Blend, my signed copy is my favorite Packard book. Great stories from the "golden age" of collecting...

Dear Packard 12 Friends,

I share Ed?s passion for Packard 12?s and reprinted his book
"The Magnificent Packard Twelve of 1934".
The reprint is a hardbound and features the Packard advertisements in colour.

You can find the book athttp://www.packard-reprints.com/1934/The-Magnificent-Packard-Twelve-of-nineteen-thirty-four
Description and many pictures are provided.

If you are interested in receiving a copy, you can pay by paypal. It is USD 195 for the book + USD 20 for shipping.
You can contact me at sales(at)packard-reprints.com

Best Regards
Packard Reprints

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