Obituary of Edward Bedrick

Edward S. Bedrick, 57, last of Frankfort KY, passed away April 25, 2026. Ed was born at Putnam Community Hospital in New York on the evening of Election Day 1968 after mom had voted. One of Ed’s great loves dated back to some of his earliest days… food and cooking. As a very young boy, he gave our Aunt a tour of our fairly extensive garden. As the story has been relayed, Ed went through the garden pointing out the different plants, “Here is the corn, these are the tomatoes, those are the peppers, and over here is the eggplant parmesan.” As a child he was in 4-H. He honed his baking skills and often produced award winning entries. One year he baked a tomato yeast bread that placed in the County Fair. When it went to the New York State Fair, the 4-H Extension Agent had to argue not to have it disqualified. The next year, the New York State Fair entry book, under yeast breads, read, “No tomato breads”. Ed was proud to have left his mark. At Carmel High School, he picked up the tuba (and sousaphone in the marching band). He also played in the Concert Band, Orchestra, and the Dixie Land Band. He continued Marching Band when he attended Cornell University. He was part of the “Tea for Tuba” performance at half time show. While at Cornell University he majored in Food Science. He told tales from the Food Science Lab where they tried to make a record breaking cheese doodle. Apparently once they reach a certain length they have a tendency to break, but not before reaching most of the way across the lab. He also told tales of sneaking dead fish under his trench coat into Lynah Rink for the Harvard Hockey game. It was a tradition that the fish be thrown out on the ice during the intermission. After graduating from Cornell University, Ed held a few jobs. One job was as a manager for Ben and Jerry’s. He boasted a top ever score at Scoop U in Vermont. Around this time, Ed also started brewing beer in the family basement which took on a unique scent after one trip down the stairs. Ed returned to school to fulfill his dream of becoming a trained Chef. He graduated from Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. He often brought the recipes home, and family meals got a lot better. I will never forget the thinly slice red pear salad with blue cheese crumbles and light vinaigrette for Christmas dinner. It was beautiful on many levels. I will also not forget the joy Ed had in preparing it. After working for many years at Williams Sonoma in Connecticut, he moved to California to follow a dream of Brewing Beer at Stone Brewery. He showed his creativity in his "Stone IPA to Go" sushi inspired keg with notes of wasabi, pickled ginger and cucumber which was featured at Stone’s Beer with the Brewer series. Eventually, Ed moved to Kentucky where he worked for Panera Bread. While visiting Ed in what would be his last week, he talked fondly of the people he worked with and joked about the fact that they were coming upon the season where the mulch at the drive-thru would catch on fire. He told a story of comping some first responders a cup of coffee during some severe weather because “it was the right thing to do.” He told a story of one of his T-shirts which read, “Enjoy Every Sandwich”. A musician, dying of pancreatic cancer, was on Letterman just prior to his death. Knowing that this would probably be his last interview, Letterman asked, “Do you have any wisdom to leave us with?” The response was “Enjoy every sandwich”. While very little seemed to come easily to Ed, he was a very thoughtful, giving person with a good sense of humor. Ed is survived by the last love of his life, Moxy, a three legged tuxedo cat now being cared for by a dear fried. He is also survived by his sister which probably explains this obituary and definitely explains the choice of memorial photograph. No formal memorial is planned at this time. Ed will be buried near our parents in Franklin, NC. If you would like to honor Ed and his memory, may I suggest that you live your life as he did. Be kind to others. Do the right thing. Enjoy the little things. Additionally, be kind to yourself — something that Ed had difficulty with. Get (or make) some great food and kick back with a beer and toast life.