Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Ed was a long wearing and durable friend from my freshman days at MIT on Burton 3rd. He was the hall chairman my freshman year and served on Judcomm once. His memory was quite phenomenal, and he remembered something about every one of the several hundred members of Burton 3rd during his tenure. He was saddened every time one of his professors at college died. He never lost his intellectual curiosity and continued reading physics and engineering textbooks until the end. I met his parents and his Uncle Charlie and Aunt Eve while they were young and vivacious. Ed left his PhD programs after his father died so that he could move home to care for his mother full time. We corresponded frequently by e-mail and telephone. I would start walking for exercise, call Ed at any time of day or night, and we would talk for an hour or two while I walked. Ed was always interested in anything I had to say and always welcomed my calls, even at 3 and 4 am. He sometimes said that our calls allowed him to live my life vicariously. He always got lots of exercise mowing grass in summer and shoveling snow in winter. He told me over the phone that I could make cornbread from nothing more than cornmeal and water, which I do.
My wife and I were planning to visit him this coming Saturday on our way to Minnesota. I never imagined that he would not be available for that visit, but found this notice, thanks to Google.
