Edwin Lewis Geus
Edwin Lewis Geus, an East Hampton resident for the past 50 years, died on Feb. 25 in Burlingame, Calif. He was 80 and had been ill with multiple myeloma for nine years. A fifth-generation Californian, his forebears traveled by covered wagon from Virginia and Vermont in the early 1840s to settle in the West.
Mr. Geus was born March 19, 1938, in Alturas, Calif., to George Kenneth Geus of Oakland and Winola Steward of Lake City, Calif. He was raised on his grandfather Bide Steward’s ranch in Surprise Valley, in Modoc County. He rode a horse to school and home again until seventh grade, when he moved to Klamath Falls, Ore., and attended the Sacred Heart Academy for three years. He returned to Surprise Valley for his senior year of high school. After graduating, he attended Sacramento State College but later returned to help his grandfather run the ranches the family operated in Lake City, Nev., and Lorella, Ore.
On May 20, 1961, he and Averill Dayton were married in the Fort Bidwell Church, in Modoc County. Miss Dayton, formerly of East Hampton, was then managing a local radio station. A year later, the couple moved to Eugene, Ore., where Mr. Geus worked for National Cylinder Gas and where the couple’s two children, George Sherrill Geus and Jeanne Frances Geus, were born. A company transfer took the family to Portland, Ore., in 1967.
The family returned to East Hampton and a more stable life in 1968, where Mr. Geus entered the real estate business, a career he would pursue for the next 50 years. During those years, he served as president of the Eastern Suffolk Board of Realtors and on the New York State Board of Realtors’ jurisdiction committee. He was a member of the East Hampton Fire Department and served for three years as captain of Company 3. For 21 years, much of his time and energy were dedicated to the East Hampton Volunteer Ambulance, for which he served as chief, assistant chief, treasurer, and as an emergency medical technician. He also served on the St. Luke’s Episcopal Church vestry. For the past four years, he served on the town’s architectural review board.
Mr. Geus had many interests, including traveling, history, music, and photography. Those who knew him well were familiar with his passion for antique furniture and glass.
Mr. Geus is survived by his wife, Averill Geus of East Hampton, his children, George Geus of Lancaster, Pa., and Jeanne Geus Hutson of East Hampton, and two grandchildren. Another grandchild died before him. A sister, Georgia Steward Lile of Arizona, and a brother, James Faulstich of Newcastle, Calif., also survive, as do two cousins.
Mr. Geus was cremated. He will be buried next to his grandfather in Lake City Cemetery. A memorial service will be held at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church on April 6 at 11 a.m.