S. Edward Culotta

Samuel Edward (Ed) Culotta was born January 2, 1932, in Beaumont, Texas, and died in his sleep June 8, 2023, at his home in Beaumont, Texas. In the ninety-one and a half years between, Ed lived a full life, packing in many adventures in a lot of places.

He graduated from St. Anthony High in Beaumont in 1949, and attended St. Edwards University in Austin, where he placed second in the Texas Open golf tournament.  He continued his education and his murderous golf game at Lamar College in Beaumont, where after a stint in the US Army in Ft. Hood and Ft. Riley he graduated with a BS in Geology in 1957. At Lamar he was smitten by the beautiful May Mericle, who likewise was smitten by him.  They married August 30, 1953.

In 1961, after stints with Baroid and Spindletop as a “mud man”, Ed left the oil industry and he and May moved their growing family to Houston to begin a long career in the medical products industry as a “detail man” for SmithKline Corp, selling pharmaceuticals and medical instruments throughout the Southwest. Success led to an executive role and a family move to the San Francisco Bay Area.  He retired from SmithKline in 1977 as vice-president of marketing and sales of SmithKline Medical Instruments, returning to Beaumont to start his own company as a manufacturer’s rep in the healthcare field. He and May later started another business, Computer Concepts, Inc., operating one of the first retail computer stores in Southeast Texas in 1980, building it into a chain of seven stores by 1987.

Ed used his experience during the next eight years establishing startup companies.  Notable among these was Citation Computer Systems, Inc, of St. Louis, MO, a computer information system automating clinical laboratories in hospitals.  He served as vice-president and remained a member of the board of directors until the company went public in 1992.  Another successful startup was Clinical Resource Systems, a computer information system that automated data in hospital emergency departments.  Ed served as executive vice-president; CRS was later acquired by a major medical company.

Returning with May to Beaumont in 1993, he spent the last four years of his active business life working part-time with Life Resource, the community mental health organization in Beaumont, as the liaison with Beaumont City Council and the Jefferson County Commissioners Court.  He felt working in community service was a great way to wrap up his career.

Upon Ed’s “final retirement” in 1997, he and May split their time between their homes in Angel Fire, New Mexico, and Beaumont. “Retired” Ed was active in Angel Fire community affairs, holding positions as Planning and Zoning Commissioner, Director of the Angel Fire Property Owners Association (representing over 4,000 property owners), and as a member of the board of directors of the Men’s Golf Association. They moved to Glen Rose, Texas in June of 2011, and then again to Beaumont in 2017.

Angel Fire was Ed and May’s dream home. They took up skiing there and enjoyed it well into their 80s. They hosted innumerable holidays and vacations for family and friends there, skiing, four-wheeling through the Kit Carson National Forest, and dropping bales of alfalfa in the back yard on Christmas Eve and watching the grandkids hyperventilate at the sight of an entire herd of elk steaming and munching in the snow on Christmas morning.  It was the only place elk were safe from him; Ed was an ardent hunter and a crack shot.  And with the cares of work life behind him, there was finally enough time for golf, his life-long passion.  Ed won or placed in a number of regional golf tournaments over this period, including the 2003 Angel Fire Club Championship and, in his late ‘70s, the New Mexico Senior Amateur championship.  He became legendary, introducing himself on the golf course, making a point of how old and creaky he was, talking about the weather, and waiting for the other fellow to suggest a friendly bet on a round of 18.  If you played Ed in a round of golf and ended up buying his lunch, you know he was not a gambling man!

Ed is survived by his wife of 69 years, the still beautiful May (they were smitten to the end); five children: sons, Keith and wife, Pam, of Village Mills, TX; Ken and wife, Anne, of Sarasota, FL, Tom and wife, Deborah, of Pitman NJ; David and wife, Faith, of Dallas, TX and daughter, Lisa May of Dallas, TX; six granddaughters, Angelena Culotta of New Orleans, LA.;  Gina Culotta Buntin and husband, Dwayne Buntin, of Selma, TX; Christina Rommelman and husband, Matt Rommelman, of Bellingham, WA; Elizabeth Culotta of Austin, TX; Emma Culotta and husband, Matt Weber, of Austin, TX; and McKenzie Culotta of Boston, Massachusetts; grandson, Nicolas Culotta of Dallas, TX; great-grandson, Cayde Buntin of Selma, TX; brother, Reverend Joachim Culotta OP of Chicago, IL; and his best buddy, Corky the Yorkie of Village Mills, TX.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Virginia Giglio Culotta and Neutsie Culotta, both from Beaumont.

Mr. Culotta’s Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 2:00 p.m., Monday, June 12, 2023, at St. Anne Catholic Church, 2715 Calder Avenue, Beaumont. His cremation arrangements will be handled through Broussard’s Crematorium under the direction of Broussard’s, 1605 North Major Drive, Beaumont.