Edmund \u201cEd\u201d Joseph Caplis, 62, of Helena, Montana, passed away on March 04, 2026. He was born on November 15, 1963, in Missoula, MT, to Michael G. Caplis and Rose O. (ne Cosner) Caplis. Ed\u2019s birth held special significance within the greater Caplis Clan, as Ed was born the same day that his paternal grandfather and namesake passed away. The youngest of three, he joined his older siblings Kerry and Tim. Though he was born in Missoula, the family lived in Polson, MT, until the fall of 1964, when they moved to Salt Lake City, UT, where his father attended graduate school at the University of Utah. When Ed\u2019s father finished his studies in 1967, the Caplis family moved to Missoula. In 1969, the family moved to Butte. In 1974, the family moved to the Helena Valley, where he continued his youthful adventures in the Scratch Gravel Hills. Ed finished his elementary education at Rossiter, moved on to C.R. Anderson Junior High, and, to his parents\u2019 prayers and eternal gratitude, he graduated from Capital High School in 1982.<\/p>\n
While still a high school senior, Ed enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He completed his basic training in 1982 and specialty training in anti-submarine warfare systems in the summer of 1983 in San Diego, California. He was stationed in Yokosuka, Japan, beginning in late summer 1983.<\/p>\n
After discharge from the Navy, Ed returned to Montana and enrolled in the Economics program at the University of Montana in Missoula. While at U of M, he met and fell in love with his future wife, Cristina Medina. Ed had a lifelong love of music, though his childhood dream of being a drummer perished in a junior high music class; he channeled his love of art and music into the Performing Arts Coordinator position with the Associated Students of the University of Montana. In his ASUM role, he was responsible for scouting and bringing music, art, and culture to the U of M campus. Ed worked for ASUM until he followed the love of his life back East to Philadelphia, PA, where he enrolled at Temple University. Ed and Cristina married in August 1990, and in December 1991, Ed earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Economy from Temple University. Soon after he earned his degree, the young couple decided to move back to Montana in the fall of 1992 and settled in Helena, MT. Ed was adamant that because of all the moving around he did as a kid, his future children would know only one home, and he planted roots on 6th<\/sup>\u00a0Avenue \u2013 roots and community were very important to Ed.<\/p>\n In 1992, Ed was hired as the Executive Director for the Montana Senior Citizen Association, advocating for the senior Citizens of Montana and lobbying for pharmaceutical drug cost reform \u2013 he was following in the footsteps of a long line of politically minded Caplis\u2019 advocating for the rights of Montanans. In 1996, Ed went to work for the Montana Department of Revenue in the Tax Policy and Research Division. 1998 was a momentous year for Ed. While still working for DOR, Ed earned his master\u2019s in public administration from the U of M, but most importantly, he attained the highest honor of becoming a Dad and the biggest fan. Ed and Cristina welcomed their first child, Tara, in September 1998. Followed by Benjamin in November 2002. Ed became the supervisor of the Tax Policy and Research Division of the Montana Department of Revenue in 2004. He retired from that position in 2022 to become a full-time \u201cBiggest Fan.\u201d He encouraged his children to follow their dreams, and he was there to support them every step of the way.<\/p>\n Ed loved music, woodworking, political debate, camping, and exploring the state. There were countless afternoons and holidays when the family would gather around the large cherrywood dining table he made by hand, having meandering political discussions that would morph into a discussion about great camping spots. Ed would inevitably pull out his Montana Gazetteer Map to tell us about this cool camping spot he found. Ed insisted that his children spend time in nature, and he often took them camping and fishing. Some of the best memories were made in the Big Hole Valley. Ed\u2019s diverse passions are reflected and live on in each of his children, though in different ways. Tara is his \u201cnature girl\u201d who loves the outdoors, is a vocal advocate for others, and is pursuing a master\u2019s degree in city planning and public transportation. Benjamin is the musician (drummer) who is bringing beautiful music to a chaotic world. Of everything he accomplished in life, Ed\u2019s greatest accomplishment was being a great father.<\/p>\n The world is upside down and chaotic, but Edmund J. Caplis died peacefully in his sleep on March 4, 2026, having lived a full, meaningful life. He was 62.<\/p>\n Ed was preceded in death by his parents, Rose in 2018, Mike in 2024, and by his father-in-law, Leo Medina, in 2020.<\/p>\n Ed is survived by his wife of 35 years, Cristina Medina; daughter Tara of Baltimore, Maryland; son Benjamin of Helena, MT; sister-in-law Monica (Steve) McCurdy of Philadelphia, PA; sister Kerry (Steve) Schultz of Lakeside, MT; brother Tim Caplis of Butte, MT; sister Lori Caplis of Helena, MT; step-mother Karen Caplis of Helena, MT; step-sister Valerie (Todd) Russell of Custer, SD; step-brother Shannon (Jen) Tustin-Park of Shanghai, China; \u00a0niece Magnolia, step-niece Noelle, nephews Alex, Evan & Fletcher, step-nephews Leo & Johnny; and lastly, but not least his TPR family and the retirees at Department of Revenue and Bergy Derby Bros \u2013 you all meant the world to him.<\/p>\n Please join Ed\u2019s family in a good old-fashioned Irish wake celebrating his life with music, stories, and raise a pint of IPA or a bit of bourbon in his memory, Wednesday, July 8th,<\/sup>\u00a0at 11:30 am, Myrna Loy Center.<\/p>\n","photo":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Caplis-Edmund.jpg","youtube_video_url":"","service_status":"public","event_title1":"Social Gathering","event_date1":"2026-07-08","start_time1":"11:30 a.m.","end_time1":"","location1":"Myrna Loy Center","address1":"15 N. Ewing Street","city1":"Helena","state1":"Montana","zipcode1":"59601","event_title2":"","event_date2":"","start_time2":"","end_time2":"","location2":"","address2":"","city2":"","state2":"","zipcode2":"","event_title3":"","event_date3":"","start_time3":"","end_time3":"","location3":"","address3":"","city3":"","state3":"","zipcode3":"","event_title4":"","event_date4":"","start_time4":"","end_time4":"","location4":"","address4":"","city4":"","state4":"","zipcode4":"","event_title5":"","event_date5":"","start_time5":"","end_time5":"","location5":"","address5":"","city5":"","state5":"","zipcode5":"","event_title6":"","event_date":"","start_time6":"","end_time6":"","location6":"","address6":"","city6":"","state6":"","zipcode6":"","event_title7":"","event_date7":"","start_time7":"","end_time7":"","location7":"","address7":"","city7":"","state7":"","zipcode7":"","event_title8":"","event_date8":"","start_time8":"","end_time8":"","location8":"","address8":"","city8":"","state8":"","zipcode8":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/case\/33123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/case"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/case"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}