Ed Hallenbeck

Edward Mark Hallenbeck, age 87, passed away peacefully in Casa Grande, AZ surrounded by family on January 13, 2020 at 1:35 a.m. Funeral services will be 10:30 AM, Saturday, January 18, 2020, at the Ellsworth Funeral Home in Madison. Burial will follow at Graceland Cemetery. Visitation will be 4-6 PM, Friday, with a Masonic Service at 6 PM, also at the funeral home. Ed was born in Madison, South Dakota to Mark and Agnes Hallenbeck where he would reside until he left home for college.
Ed grew up working in his family’s businesses in Madison, Hallenbeck’s Funeral Home and Hallenbeck’s Furniture Store. He worked at the furniture store as a child and teenager, got an undertakers license and worked at the funeral home and used that money for college. He did an internship in Chicago, Illinois during college and worked at the Cook County Morgue.
Ed graduated from Madison High School in 1951 and graduated in 1955 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from South Dakota State University. He worked for electric companies in Missouri and New York before getting a job with the Bureau of Reclamation in Huron as an engineer. He continued on with the Bureau, moving up to management, and
working in South Dakota, Nevada and Arizona. Ed had a significant career with the Bureau.
In 1980 he became General Manager of the Arizona Projects Office during construction of the canals and operations building, which would become the Central Arizona Project (CAP). The CAP is one of the largest reclamation projects in Arizona history. After that, he went on to become Lower Colorado Regional Director, managing all Bureau operations in Arizona,
Nevada and California. Ed retired from the Bureau after nearly 30 years of service. Ed loved the water industry so much that he continued working, this time for Eastern Municipal Water District (Eastern) in Hemet, CA from 1991 to 1998. After leaving Eastern, he and his wife, Carole, enjoyed traveling the United States in their motor home, visiting their many
friends and family.
Ed was an active member of the Madison Masonic Temple where he is a Master Mason; he was a life member of the National Rifle Association (NRA), traveled throughout the United States going to NRA shows; and was an avid gun smither and shooter. Ed also enjoyed welding, airplane model making, restoring motorcycles and was a member of the Arizona Z Car Club. Ed and Carole were snowbirds for several years with residences in South Dakota and Arizona, but finally settled in Casa Grande, AZ.
Ed’s wife of 43 years, Carole, passed away in May of 2019. Ed is survived by his daughters, Carla Young and Marsha Esmeier (Jon), grandchildren Alyssa McConkey (Cody) and Conner Esmeier; Step children Teri Natale (Chet), Larry Symmonds (Yvonne), Deb Stewart and Paul Symmonds (Kathy) and several step grandchildren and step great-grandchildren.