Obituary of Edwin Pryor, 57

Edwin (Ned) C. Pryor, 57 of Port Matilda, Pennsylvania passed away on Thursday, June 30, 2016 at home surrounded by his family.

Ned was born in Baltimore, Maryland on April 21, 1959 to the late James and Grace (Kelbaugh) Pryor. On March 3, 1988 he married the love of his life Caroline Danek who survives at home.

Ned grew up in Catonsville, Maryland and graduated from Catonsville High School in 1977 and earned a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from Virginia Tech. His first work out of college was as a Construction Engineer/Inspector for building contractors in the McLean, Virginia area. In 1985 Ned began working for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as an Environmental Engineer for the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. There he reviewed regulations and developed technical guidance to assist EPA's regions and States in the enforcement of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). It was while working at EPA in Washington, D.C. that Ned and Caroline met. In April 1988, Ned went to work for Kamber Engineering in Gaithersburg, Maryland as an environmental engineer/project manager where he
performed environmental assessments of facilities and land to determine compliance with environmental laws. Next stop for Ned was the Department of Navy, where Ned was a Program Manager for the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVAC) underground storage tank program and oil and hazardoust substance spill program. His work included helping field offices comply with environmental regulations, overseeing the Navy's efforts to investigate and remediate 8 National Priority List sites along the east coast, and provide training for hazardous substance spill responders. Ned shifted his career focus to the surface water field and began a 24 year career as a Hydrologist at the National Weather Service's Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center, first located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and then relocated to State College, Pennsylvania. The contributions he provided while working there include providing outstanding flood warning services during numerous historic flood events such as January 1996, Floyd (1999), Ivan (2004), June 2006 (Delaware & Susquehanna North Branch), Irene (2011), and Lee (2011). Ned also contributed to scientific advancements at the River Forecast Center including the implementation of computer system advances and new probabilistic ensemble forecast techniques. Ned's proudest accomplishment was his family. In addition to being missed tremendously by them he also touched the lives of those around him. He was a mentor to many of his colleagues always willing to share his knowledge and work load. He was a ready volunteer to lend a hand whether it was moving furniture, building a fence, or plowing a driveway. Ned's friendly personality, positive attitude, and knowledge about people, places, and things are trademarks of his. Ned enjoyed gardening with his wife, riding his bicycle along the roads and trails of Pennsylvania, vacationing at Ocean City, Maryland, and visiting Gettysburg Battlefield.

In addition to being survived by his wife, Ned is survived by his two sons, Eric of Akron, Ohio, William of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and daughter Alison of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; two sisters Laura Harper Pryor (Michael Acierno) of Brookeville, Maryland, and Deborah Pryor Neal (Suresh Meswani) of Bynum, Texas; brother James “Neil” Pryor (Janet) of West Friendship, Maryland along with numerous nieces and their families.

Following his wishes a memorial service will be private at the convenience of the family. At Ned's request, memorial contributions may be made in his memory to Rails to Trails of Central Pennsylvania at www.rttcpa.org.

Arrangements are under the care of Heintzelman Funeral Home, State College. Online condolences and signing of the guest book may be entered at www.heintzelmanfuneralhome.com.