Edward Terry loved a challenge. In his 30s, he wanted to learn how to fly, so he did. Then he bought himself a plane.
But soon he had conquered that challenge, so he sold the plane, used some of the money to buy his fiancée a wedding ring, and used the rest to buy a sailboat.
Terry mastered the sailboat as well, and, when it had challenged him to its full extent, he sold it. He used part of the proceeds for a down payment on a new home, and the rest to buy a speedboat. After the speedboat came the motorcycle.
“He always wanted to keep his mind going,” said his daughter Kim Terry.
Terry’s family found his methods of entertaining himself impressive and unique.
“Who learns how to fly a plane as a hobby?” said his stepdaughter, Angie Kosek.
Edward L. Terry, of Cumming, died June 29 of complications from heart failure. He was 78. Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Cumming. McDonald and Son Funeral Home and Crematory in Cumming is handling arrangements.
Modes of transportation weren’t always enough to push Terry’s mind. He also constantly tested his talents with technology.
“He was always getting the latest and greatest technology. My dad would have the newest iPhone before any of the kids,” Kim Terry said. “And I’m in IT.”
Terry was a programmer for Coca-Cola for more than 35 years, his daughter said, but even after he quit he would continue to code and write programs “just to see if they would work.”
That zeal didn’t just benefit Terry’s mind, though. He was a very active member of Christ the King Lutheran Church, and often volunteered his programming services to his church.
He also devoted other talents to his congregation.
In addition to the programming, serving as treasurer of his church and teaching Bible studies, Terry and a group of church members started a band. They dubbed it Nostalgia and performed for nursing homes every Friday.
Terry was always somehow involved with music. It was, of course, another field in which he could challenge himself.
“He loved music,” his daughter said. “There were always instruments in our house. He would get a new instrument, play it for a while, and then go on to the next one.”
Sometimes, programming and music mingled.
Kim Terry woke up one morning to the theme song from “Beverly Hills Cop” playing throughout the house. Her father had programmed his computer to replay the song, “Axel F,” in its entirety, just for fun.
When Terry began a 20-year battle with heart complications he embraced a new challenge. Terry, who was never a gym rat before his illness, began to go to the gym four times a week, Kosek said.
“He really tried to stay on top of his health,” Kosek said.
Terry’s hobbies and life might have been fueled by a desire for a challenge, but the biggest challenge was always how he could help others, Kosek said.
“Anything and everything he did was to help people or to make other people happy,” Kosek said. “Even with his band, obviously he loved music but he thoroughly enjoyed making people happy.”
In addition to his daughter and stepdaughter, Terry is survived by his wife, Carol Terry of Cumming; sons, Marc Terry of Blue Ridge and Brett Teatro of Fenton, Mich.; daughters, Emily (Raymond) Chow of Alpharetta; daughters, Beth and Jennifer; grandchildren, Clarke, Marah, Lizzie, Caleb, Morandi, and Julia.
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