February 27, 2011 | 10:38 am

Rest in Peace Ed

Posted by Ilana Angel

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My wonderful friend Ed has passed away.  He may have been the most decent human being I have ever known.  I met Ed, his wife Sue, and their daughter, when she and my son were in middle school together. They ended up going to the same high school, so we started a carpool, and Ed drove my son to school everyday.

I first spoke with Ed when we both volunteered at a school show.  He was schlepping cases of water across campus and bringing it to our refreshments table.  Young, strong kids surrounded him, but he insisted on schlepping so they could play.  I quickly put an end to their fun and sent my son and his friends to unload Ed’s car.

We spent the evening together and it was great.  He was funny, smart, entertaining, and desperately in love with his daughter.  If you read my blog on a regular basis, you know I am in love with my son and he is my favorite writing topic.  Ed felt the same way about his one and only child, and it was a pleasure to talk about our kids.

Ed never said anything unkind about anyone.  He was the type of guy who could walk through a building and everyone knew his name, and would say hello.  Even more impressive, he knew all their names, and a little something about them.  He was a man’s man, a no bull kind of guy, who was lovely, charming, polite, professional, kind, decent, and simply delicious.

Everyone loved Ed.  He and Sue are lovely people, and any of the kids who know their daughter will tell you, “she is the funniest person we know”.  They are just good people.  It’s not often that you meet people who are so decent, and who everyone loves.  You’ll never find anyone to say an unkind word about any of them, which is special.

He was the oldest of 13 kids in his family, and is survived by 12 siblings and their families, his mother, the love of his life Sue, and his daughter, who he loved so much.  I was 35 when my father died, this beautiful child is only 14 years old.  I cannot wrap my head around her loss.  Sue and Ed were married for 17 years, and simply perfect for each other.

His wife Sue is a remarkable woman.  When her beloved Ed passed away, she called me right away to let me know that he would not be able to drive the carpool in the morning.  This tells you about the kind of people they are.  In her darkest moment, she was worried about the kids and how they would get to school.  Sue’s compassion made the loss feel even greater.

There are many blessings around the passing of Ed.  He went in his sleep, just hours before he would have had a car full of kids going to school.  He passed days after his child’s first ever formal high school dance, and got to see her in a gorgeous dress with her hair and make-up done.  He left this world while lying next to the woman that he loved and adored so very much.

Having spent time at their home this past week, visiting, cooking, organizing, remembering, laughing, and just holding hands, I spent the weekend at home crying.  Once the initial shock ends, you snap into worker bee mode.  The past couple of days were spent mourning the loss of my friend and it was healing.  One must feel the loss in order to feel anything.

I gave up trying to understand death when my father passed away at age 63, so I have no idea why this lovely man has gone.  All I know for sure, is that it was my honor to call him my friend, and I will miss him.  To Ed, rest in peace dear, sweet man.  To Sue and their cherished daughter, I love you very much.  To everyone who knew, loved and will miss Ed, keep the faith.