Edwin Paul Cutler
Edwin Paul Cutler, passed away peacefully on June 6, 2022, at the age of 93, at home in New Bern, NC. He is survived by his wife Wendy Ulrich Cutler, a sister, Susan Cutler Williams, nine children, two stepsons, 17 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren, and 11 step-grandchildren and step-great-grandchildren, and also by first wife, Juanita Mozelle Cutler, nee Harpold. He was preceded in death by his parents and one brother, Vern Dale Cutler, of Brandywine, Maryland.
Edwin Paul was born May 8, 1929 to Zeta Cora Jones and Raymond Leroy Brady in Brandywine, Maryland. His parents were divorced when he was young and he spent his early years with his mother and stepfather, Wilbur Murray Cutler, in Waterloo, Iowa. The family later returned to Southern Maryland where Edwin and his brother and sister were raised. In 1948 he married Juanita Harpold, and in 1949 the first of their nine children was born.
He learned carpentry from his stepfather, but "stole" his trade as a bricklayer after he became fascinated with the patterns and geometry of brickwork. While laying brick on the American University, he put on a clean shirt and started going to night school at George Washington University. At GWU he was inducted into Sigma Tau and was chairman of the Engineers Banquet and Ball, and graduated with a BS degree in Engineering with a minor in Physics in 1958.
After a career as a mathematician at the Naval Research Lab and Litton Industries, around 1965 he started his own company, Comtech, providing analytical and programming services to NASA at the Goddard Space Flight Center. Over this technical career he measured the growth rate of nuclear fireballs, analyzed pulsar x-rays from the galactic center, and published scientific papers on pulsars and artificial intelligence.
However, as he grew up occasionally playing hooky and rowing boats on the Patuxent River, he dreamt of sailing out of sight of land and steering by the stars. In 1981 he and his second wife Wendy bought the Romarin, a classic wooden sailboat, and took off sailing. In 1984 they sailed out of the Chesapeake Bay and sailed the Atlantic Ocean from Newfoundland to Trinidad, navigating with a sextant. When their wooden mast broke, he scarfed in a splice and they continued on their way. Their engine seized in Antigua and they sailed 3000 miles through all the islands in and out of crowded harbors and up to Bermuda with no engine. They rode out hurricanes in the Caribbean, repaired a blown-out sail with contact cement and replaced thru-hull fittings at sea. They sailed for 20 years, and along the way he also taught college math and computer science while living aboard the Romarin in Bermuda. They finally retired to New Bern, NC.
Before, during and after sailing Edwin published numerous poems, articles, and books. Several short stories appeared in nautical publications, including sailing adventures and experiences in Cruising World. Some are available on "https://edwincutler.tripod.com/". His real-life adventures are folded into one of his books, "Island Life".
