Ed had a Peter Pan spirit about him and passion for teaching swim that was unparalleled. That passion led to a gift that he passed on to every child, parent, and co-worker! He made that child feel loved and special and most of all comfortable in the aquatic environment. He made every parent feel heard and seen. He made employees dig deeper, work harder, and in that space, these employees found something in themselves that they didn’t know they had. He was magic!
As a friend, his whole being was invested in you. He would take you seriously, meet you exactly where you were, and lifted you up. When you would talk to him, he kept his concentration on you and made eye contact with his big brown eyes and the soft wrinkles that expressed every emotion. His smile and laugh was his and his alone and something you would recognize across a crowded room. His walk was patented and trademarked. No one had a walk that made you smile like his. If you took notice, he wore the outside of his shoes down by his own strides. His shakes and excessive black coffee drinking were the sprinkles that decorated his entire spirit. His pixie dust that made him fly. Speaking of fly, we will never forget his dance moves. They were straight from New Kids on the Block and he owned the floor if he ever got a chance!
Ed changed when he met Christine. He never lost any of his attributes, but gained a softness and a glow that would light the darkest of caves when he was with her. When Ruby came along he changed again. His teaching changed and his mentoring role took flight. His coaching style matured the way you would expect from a father. Each child brought more joy and happiness and stories on top of stories. The dad jokes evolved and he shot straight into stardom! His high pitch chuckle sealed the deal no matter how corny the joke may have been!
Fast forward to today and the tick and tock if time and it feels like something has been stolen from us. We held him tight, but what I would give to hold him, hug him or shake his hand one more time, will never be enough to bring him back. So I will look to his children to find the glimmers of Ed shine through and take in those glimpses as a small morsels of comfort, knowing that even though he has left us physically, he will always be around.
Ed, we love you!