Edmund A. Claypool

The Rev. Edmund “Ed” Claypool, 97, passed away peacefully in hospice care in Littleton, Mass., on July 13, 2025, surrounded by the love and support of his family. He was the minister of Cutchogue United Methodist Church from 1970 to 1980 and served as chaplain for the Cutchogue Fire Department.

Born in Davenport, Iowa, April 26, 1928, Ed served in the U.S. Air Force from 1946 to 1949 and took advantage of the G.I. Bill to receive his B.A. from Ottawa University in Ottawa, Kan. He went on to earn his theological degree at Andover Newton Theological School in Newton, Mass., and was ordained in June 1960. Ed ministered to congregations in Kansas, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York, with 10 of those years spent in Cutchogue, where the entire Claypool family forged many deep, lifelong friendships.

Ed was known for sermons grounded in his love of history, literature and a belief in the better angels of our human nature. He will be remembered for his quick, dry wit and his ability to make lasting friendships in every chapter of his life.

Ed married Ruth Anne Biggar on Aug. 16, 1952, in Saco, Maine, and although divorced in 1983, they rekindled their love in their senior years and were committed to one another until her death in 2020. He is survived by his son, Steven Claypool of Greenport; his daughter, Carolyn Armistead and husband, Tedford, of Acton, Mass.; his grandchildren, Nicolle Armistead of Acton and Corinne Schriefer (Cam) of Waltham, Mass.; and two great-grandchildren, Wyatt and Rowan.

In lieu of a memorial service, Ed’s true celebration of life was his 97th birthday party on April 26 at the Life Care Center of Nashoba in Littleton, which was attended by family, local friends and several dear old friends who traveled many miles to eat cake, make a toast and tell stories to celebrate Ed while he was still present to enjoy it all.

There will be a small family gathering in Maine later this summer.

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