Mike,

I was so sorry to hear of your colossal loss! Ed was a character for sure. We had a squabble but I loved him dearly. He was my friend and will forever be missed. I loved going to Whole Foods with him on Thursdays.  I often think about the night we all went to see Bobby Caldwell and what a great time David and I with you and Ed and your merry band of friends. We were honored to be a part of it.

Thank you Mike for sharing your love, Ed, with us. We will cherish the memories.

Wonderful memories mash up with Mike, mother Magpie, Jane, Joe and Ben and friends ❤️ 

I still haven’t fully processed this. How can this be true? I have struggled with focusing on writing down words….I put together this montage of photos and video as a way of processing. It’s a brief snapshot of 20 years of amazing memories of time spent with Mike and Ed.

And that’s what is so jarring- for as long as I can remember it’s been Mike and Ed. Even though Mike was my brother for more than 30 years before Ed entered our lives - it feels like he has always been there.

I remember when Mike came to visit us (when we first moved to Canada in the summer of 2001) and he had this look - the look of excitement and happiness you have when you have met someone who might be the one. I remember him telling us about Ed - it was early days and not really official yet … but he had a twinkle in his eye.

I think we first met Ed in person when Mike and Ed came to Canada in 2005. By then they had already moved into their beautiful home in Fair Oaks Ranch and were most definitely a long term thing! Inevitably there were dance parties in the kitchen. Ed the instigator, mum his co-conspirator. You just need to look at the photos to see how much fun we had. And of course, that’s where Ed introduced the boys to the joys of Barry Manilow 😊

This was the first of many family visits over the years.

Sometimes we were all (the three of us, Mum and Mike and Ed) able to be together (such as that visit to Sherwood Park in 2005, Thanksgiving 2010, Ed’s 50th birthday cruise in 2012, Christmas and the most beautiful wedding in 2013)

A highlight for us all was Ed’s fiftieth on the cruise with the Andrades– we were dubbed Ed’s posse, as noted on the red t shirts, and we were pretty much famous on that ship as a result!

I’ll never forget Mike and Ed bracing against the cold to come to the frozen North to spend the holidays with us in 2007 and again in 2010. It really was the coldest weather Ed had ever experienced. He complained ….a bit…….

We spent time together with my friends too. Joan taking them on a tour of the Christmas Lights in Edmonton and joining us for the wedding, and they came to Vegas to meet us when I went on girls trip with Lori in 2012. Lori and I stopped in for a visit when a work trip took us to San Fran and San Diego in 2017. Now that was eventful….remember the punctured tire!! And the glitter ball dance party! And Andrea and I spent a wonderful weekend in 2014, when we introduced Ed and Mike to Paolo Nutini who was playing at the Wiltern.

The 3 of us spent time together with mum in Portugal – at Christmas 2016 and then in September 2021 we spent 3 weeks together as we navigated moving mum into a care home. This was a very special time, as we bonded in a different way over packing up a life of childhood memories for Mike and me, while Ed was a much needed advisor, and emotional support for us. He handled challenging moments with mum well, taking it all in his stride. We all went on early morning walks – just about every day. Mike would head out earlier, and then Ed and I would get ready and go meet Mike- usually just as the sun was rising. It was a special time.

As Joe and Ben grew to no longer be the boys but as Ed and Mike would often say, “the men”, we spent a fab holiday together in 2016, going on another cruise. Kayaking on Catalina, drinking cocktails and dissing TRUMP in Ensenada, and making the most of the fun activities on the ship. That trip, we also went to see Adele in concert, and checked out Old LA, as well as seeing an LA Galaxy game and just having fun in the pool. Every time we got together we packed so much in and had a blast together.

In the summer of 2017, we all got together in Canada again – finally in warmer weather, and we rented a people wagon to go on a road trip to Canmore. What I remember about the drive down was shrieking laughter coming from the back of the van as Ed and Ben, sitting in the middle seats, split the headphones and watched Sausage Party. Of course, there was also dance party in the Airbnb. There was a dance party just about every time we got together.

The last time the boys saw their FUNCLE Ed in person was 2018, when we went to LA to celebrate Joe and Ben’s birthdays. That trip, Ed and I had a big fight (we didn’t agree on everything!!) and of course we made up….BUT the overriding memory is of laughter – and especially of Ed sliding off the couch as we laughed so hard playing Cards Against Humanity and hamming it up with the red telephone.

We met up again in Vegas last year when Lori and I were there for a conference, when we spent a day having fun in the pool and went to see Gaga in concert– so much fun. That’s the last time I saw Ed in person.

We are a very lucky family, for many many reasons. We have moved across the world to live in our chosen countries and have built amazing lives and at the same time we have stayed connected and been intentional about travelling to spend time together and creating wonderful family memories at every turn. There’s so much more to tell than I’ve captured here….but this post is already really long!

What you don’t see in the photos and videos is the many regular facetimes and texts. We all talked regularly , often with all 5 of us on the call together, or with the boys popping in, until of course it got more challenging once the boys moved out. The last time we all connected was with a wonderful text exchange on New Years Eve. It was Ed who texted.

“Hi guys, We just wanted to tell you Happy New Year in advance, in case we don’t stay up that late……………. Wish you were all here. ☹ Love you to the moon and back. Happy New Year and Hugs to everyone”

Joe and Jenna were in Edmonton, me and Ben in Portland, Ed and Mike at home in Newhall. And we all sent each other so much love and happy wishes for a new year – fully expecting that we would all get together in 2023.

That can’t happen now.

What we must hold on to is 20 years of wonderful memories. Of a guy who made us laugh; made us mad sometimes; made us cry. A guy who showed us how to just go for it and get up and seize the day, who taught us to be persistent, and to demand what you want. A guy who created a sense of adventure - as Joe said you never knew what was going to happen next when you were out with Ed.

A guy who also made sure to tell those he loved, that he loved them. Often. And that included us. And we love you Ed. So so much. To the moon and back. Forever. 💔❤️😘💋

My Heart is aching, my mind in disbelief, my memories filled with joy My deepest condolences for the loss of a wonderful man and neighbor 

Mike I can’t imagine the depth of your grief. You two were  match made in heaven. Ed is now in your heart, mind, memories and with you until you  in  heaven