Edward Siegel - Lodge and resort manager, addiction counselor

Edward Boyce Siegel died at home in Ketchum, Idaho on January 14, 2016 at age 87 with his children, and close family and friends at his bedside.  

Ed was born on December 15, 1928 in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he grew up. He attended the University of Colorado, but only completed college at age 73 when he received an A.S. in counseling from New Hampshire Technical Institute. This formalized his life mission of helping people who share the challenge of alcohol and chemical addiction.

Among many other challenges that Ed met with courage, in addition to maintaining his sobriety, was the loss of a leg due to a skiing accident at Alta in 1951. With the help of ski legend Alf Engen and friend Warren Miller, he was skiing again by 1955, and skied until he was almost 80. 

Ed met his wife, Lois, on a chairlift at Alta where they married and together managed the Rustler Lodge, where Ed befriended Dick and Miggs Durrance. Many years later, Ed had the opportunity to sponsor Dick for induction into the Sun Valley Ski Club Hall of Fame. In the late 1950s, he worked as general manager at China Peak (California) and later held management positions at Timberhaus Ski & Sports, Sierra Summit, and the Sugar Bowl Lodge in Truckee, California, where his two children were born in the early 1960s. His long career in the recreational outdoor-sports industry also included senior management and sales positions at Park City and Waterville Valley resorts, and sales positions with Tour Edge Golf, Olin Ski Company, The Ski Company, and Lynx Golf.

Ed’s work with addiction and recovery spanned many decades. Over time he became a mentor, confidante, and friend to hundreds of people in the recovery community of the Wood River Valley. Even after a near fatal stroke in 2013 impaired his capacities, Ed remained committed to his life’s work.