SCULPTURE

Ed Pettelle

Edwin W. Pettelle, retired creative-services manager and promotions manager for The Seattle Times and an accomplished metal sculptor, seemed to have found happiness right up until his death.

Edwin W. Pettelle, retired creative-services manager and promotions manager for The Seattle Times and an accomplished metal sculptor, seemed to have found happiness right up until his death.

In the late 1980s, when Ed Pettelle began building a bronze-art foundry with his sons in Sultan, "he was enjoying himself," said his son Todd Pettelle. "He'd come out here at 9 and leave at 5."

Ed, who worked with metal grinders and other devices to shape sculptures, had tooled out some of his work earlier on the day of his death and couldn't have been happier.  

Pettelle was born on a farm on Vashon Island on Nov. 7, 1925.

After serving in the Army engineers in World War II, Mr. Pettelle received a degree in fine arts, advertising and marketing from the University of Washington, where he met his future wife, Shirley. They raised three children and celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary before his death.

In 1987, he joined his two sons Kevin and Todd in building the Sultan foundry, forming a partnership called Northwest Artworks (now Soul in Bronze). He devoted four days a week to the foundry and had a studio there. His work now is exhibited in galleries and collections across the country.