Obituary of Eddie J. LaPlante

Eddie J. LaPlante, was born on February 6, 1932 in Memphis, Tennessee. He was the third of three children born to John Baptiste LaPlante and Ida Edwards Corn LaPlante. Eddie served 4 years in the United States Air Force, he enlisted immediately after graduating from Miami High School in 1950.  He met Joan Andrews at the same high school and they married in 1953. They had their first son, Joe in 1954 and their first daughter Terry in 1956 while Ed utilized his military college benefits to enroll and graduate with a class of 70 from the Milwaukee School of Engineering. Ed was recruited by General Electric as a BS Electrical Engineer and relocated his family to Merritt Island, Florida. Ed commuted to Patrick Air Force base and did military flight tests of black box technology and then at Kennedy Space Center where he was a field engineer for all the rocket launches for 27 loyal years. 3 more children were born: Tom in 1958, Mary in 1959 and Sara in 1962 all born in Merritt Island. Eddie left a legacy with his wife Joan of 5 children, 13 grandchildren and 19 great grandchildren. Ed utilized General Electric benefits to earn his MBA from Florida Institute of Technology (Melbourne, FL). Ed sorrowfully survived his granddaughter, Christina LaPlante, (9/11/89 – 6/25/09); first born Joseph Edward LaPlante, (6/24/1954 – 10/18/2013). Additionally, Ed LaPlante survived his first wife Joan Andrews (03/281932 – 05/15/2016); his sisters, Jonne Hicks (1920 – 11/02/2015) and Lorraine Parke (1922 – 05/10/2014). Ed served as a scout leader, and because his son Joe progressed to Eagle Scout, Ed was invited and facilitated his entire family vacationing at the private Philmont Scouting Ranch located in New Mexico. Ed facilitated priceless cross country annual vacations. Ed LaPlante is survived by his wife Janet Stevens LaPlante (born 7/25/1928) who still resides in the home they shared for 25 years located in Miami, Florida. They enjoyed a wonderful life of traveling the world utilizing international home exchange memberships and doing missionary work as representatives of Stanton Baptist Church, in North Miami, Florida. Ed held an international driver’s license. Exchanges included Lake Tahoe, multiple trips to France, Germany, England, Holland / Belgium. They also traveled to Israel, Prague, and Finland. Dad biked across Europe with his life time work friend Wally R. Dal Santo.  Janet and Ed were positioned in Haiti, Dominican Republic, Alaska, and Hawaii as missionary volunteers. They made a great team enjoying ballroom dancing, party bridge, family gatherings and volunteering. Eddie moved to Melbourne in June of 2017.  He was surrounded by family until his death on Wednesday, March 20th 2019 at 4:45 pm where he peacefully exhaled his last breath.