Born on the south side of Chicago to first generation immigrants from Austria and Czechoslovakia, Edward was the second son of John and Caroline (Reichl) Karner. His older brother, John, preceeded him in death. Ed served in the Air Force and was stationed in Bordeaux, France, where he was put in charge of special services. After his discharge he relocated to Joliet, Illinois, where is started and successfully operated Karner Travel for over 25 years. Ed married Mary Carol (McDonnell) on Feb. 23, 1963. Carol, Ed and all four of their children were blessed to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary together in Oro Valley, Arizona.

Edwardo, as he preferred to be called later in life, is survived by his wife, Carol; four children, Mark (Jane Gibson), Susan (Francis "Waldo" Prock), John (Ericka Gettman) and David (Lisa Pleck); 10 grandchildren, Gibson and Creighton Karner, Georgia, Jack and Henry Prock, Katie and Julia Karner, and Kylie, Devin and Caden Karner; nephew. Jim Karner; and niece, Linda (Karner) Christensen.

For those that knew Ed, they will remember him as a great golfer, and perhaps an even better card player. For most of his adult life he loved to ski and introduced his children and grandchildren to the joy of "real" skiing in the mountains of Colorado, Utah and, of course, Sun Valley, Idaho, which became his primary residence in 1997.

Carol and Ed relocated to their second home in Marana, Arizona, in 2019 after the Sun Valley mile-high elevation became difficult for Ed. Shortly thereafter, they moved into a new villa in Splendido, a senior community nearby in Oro Valley. Ed enjoyed countless hours of sunshine on their patio with a gorgeous view of the Catalinas.

Throughout his life, Ed enjoyed the companionship of a great number of "guys" at the Joliet Country Club in Joliet, the Valley Club in Sun Valley and the Gallery in Marana. In recent years, the guys kept an eye on their senior statesman as he continued to play golf until November 2022. Their friendship meant a great deal to Ed. Beyond the golf course, Ed loved playing gin rummy and usually came away the winner much to the frustration of his buddies.

As the owner of Karner Travel, Ed advertised that he was the "dealer of dreams, and merchant of fun," which is how he would like to be remembered. He lived his life with gusto, loved his wife immensely, and inspired his children to dream big.

Services will be private in Sun Valley. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to your favorite charity in Ed's name.