Edward "Ed" Friedrich, 79, Pleasant Hill, Missouri, died Sunday, November 30, 2014 at Golden Years Care Center in Harrisonville, Missouri. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday, December 5, 2014 at the Atkinson Funeral Home in Harrisonville with burial in Orient Cemetery, Harrisonville. Visitation will be held from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Thursday, December 4, at the Atkinson Funeral Home. Memorial contributions may be made to the Hickory Grove Baptist Church or to Serenity Care Hospice.

Ed was born August 23, 1935 at the farm home near Independence, Missouri, the son of David and Anna May (Sams) Friedrich. The family moved to a farm north of Harrisonville when he was seven years old. Ed attended Harrisonville Schools and was a 1954 graduate of Harrisonville High School. While in high school, he was very active in FFA. He served as an officer and took part in many judging contests. He showed Milking Shorthorn Cattle and Duroc hogs at many fairs. In his senior year, Ed was awarded the DeKalb Award, a State Farmer Degree and the State Farm Mechanics Award. He continued to support FFA and was honored with an Honorary Chapter Farmer by the Pleasant Hill FFA in 1980. Ed was also active in the band and glee club, acappella choir and Madrigal choirs, class plays, junior class officer and a study hall librarian his senior year. He collected his monthly wage of $1.28 though he rarely re-shelved the returned books. Ed was a member of the Wal-Center 4-H Club. He was a dairy project leader as an adult. After retiring, he and his wife, Margie, enjoyed interviewing the Clover Kids at the Lafayette County 4-H Fair for eight years and received a "Friend of 4-H" award in 2012. He was part of the Horn-Friedrich-Shields "100 Years of 4-H Families" in 2007. The current total years of member/leader are 230 years of service. The family was Cass County's 4-H Farm Family at the Missouri State Fair in 1975. Ed was baptized as a teenager at the Harrisonville First Baptist Church. In later years he has enjoyed attending the Hickory Grove Baptist Church.

Ed married Margie Horn on May 18, 1957 at the Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church. They were blessed with three children, Debra Kay, Mary Ann and Daniel Bret. They moved to their current home near Pleasant Hill in 1959 and began a dairy farm. They had a milking shorthorn dairy herd for 46 years, retiring in 2005. They supported the West Central Missouri District Fair in Pleasant Hill. In 2006, he was chosen Grand Marshall of the Cass County Fair in honor of his service in the 1960's and 1970's. Ed liked planting vegetables and watching them grow. He seemed to get more enjoyment from giving vegetables away than from eating them. He also loved growing gladiolas and sharing them.

Ed truly enjoyed his grandchildren, Mariah and Logan Shields and Chelsey Friedrich. He was always ready to stop his work to play with them. After he sold the dairy herd in 2005, they were able to attend their 4-H and school events, including marching and concert band, show choir, color guard performances, basketball and volleyball games and National Honor Society ceremonies and graduations. He was also blessed with a daughter-in-law, Cindy Friedrich and son-in-law, Mike Bolton, who have added so much to the family.

Ed was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers, William Friedrich and Harold Friedrich, a brother-in-law, Freddie Horn and a nephew, Stephen Friedrich. He is survived by his wife, Margie Friedrich; two daughters, Debra Bolton and husband, Mike, and Mary Ann Shields; one son, Daniel Friedrich and wife, Cindy; 3 grandchildren, Mariah and Logan Shields and Chelsey Friedrich; 2 sisters-in-law, Helen Friedrich and Mary Ellen Horn; nephews and nieces, Gary Friedrich, Terry and Martha Friedrich, Ginny, Lu Ann Beeman, Scott and Leigh Ann Friedrich, Jessie and Tyler, Stan Friedrich, Shelley and Tim Noe and Sable, Lori Friedrich Johnson, Derek Friedrich and William Willman.