Edmund Henry Bourdase
Resident of Fresno
On June 26, 2019, we lost our beloved father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and friend Edmund Henry Bourdase. Ed was born on September 15, 1928 to parents Henry Bourdase and Edna Risi in Oakland, along with brother Jack and sister Diane. As a boy, Ed began hunting and fishing with his father and brother and as a young man, worked for General Motors assembling cars and served in the United States National Guard.
In 1950, Ed married Donna Parker and together they had 3 children, Mark, Jodi and Martin. They raised their young children in Oakland before moving to Fresno in 1961 when Ed was invited to be a member of the Fresno Bombers, the Fresno team for the upstart National Bowling League. While the league did not survive, Ed would continue his career in the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) and went on tour beginning in 1963. For several years, Donna and the children would join Ed on the tour during the summer, traveling from tournament to tournament throughout the US and Canada.
In 1974 Ed married Janey Busick and they had a daughter, Shalon. He relocated to San Jose and along with continuing on the PBA tour, his dream of opening a pro shop came to fruition. Ed and Janey opened Almaden Awards and Trophies, providing trophies and awards for various bay area school districts, sports teams and companies.
When the satellite television craze began, Ed opened Almaden Satellite where he sold and installed satellite dishes for business and residential customers. While running two businesses, and touring on weekends on the Senior PBA tour, Ed continued to bowl league three nights per week.
After losing his beloved wife Janey in 2004, Ed retired, closed Almaden Awards after thirty years in business, and moved back to Fresno to be with his 4 children and multiple grandchildren. When Ed became ill with cancer in 2007, he reconnected with his first wife Donna who helped nurse him through his illness. They remained companions until her death in 2015.
In 2010, Ed was inducted into the CVCC Hall of Fame with his family and friends in attendance to celebrate this lifelong achievement.
Living up to his motto – you never stop, because when you stop you have nothing to live for – Ed rode his bike twice a day around his neighborhood with his beloved dogs in the basket, waving to neighbors as he passed them. He was also actively bowling in two senior leagues at the time of his passing.
Ed was preceded in death by his wife Janey, ex-wife/ friend Donna, and son Mark. He is survived by daughters Jodi and Shalon, son Martin, multiple grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
A celebration of Ed’s life will be held August 2, 2019 at Cross City Christian Church Youth Center in Fresno at 10:30am with a reception lunch immediately following. In lieu of flowers, please donate to BPAA Bowling Foundation.