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In memory of

Edward Francis Yacovone

Atlanta, GA, USA

October 3, 1948 - January 19, 2020

Oct 3, 1948 - Jan 19, 2020

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Edward Francis Yacovone, a man with a personality larger than life itself, told his last stories and cracked his last jokes in the company of family and friends just hours before passing away in his sleep on January 19, 2020. Born in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1948, he lived out his youth in northern Connecticut and Western Massachusetts, before leaving to explore and impact the rest of the world. He attended the University of Dayton and became a lifelong Flyers fan, more vociferously so in recent years as the basketball team regained the stature it enjoyed when Ed was a student. After college, he volunteered with the Peace Corps for three years in South Korea, where he worked on a tuberculosis elimination project and met the mother of his children, Christina of Norcross and Nick of Marietta, Georgia.

That volunteer work kick-started a long and illustrious public health career at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where he started as a communicable disease investigator in New York City in 1975. Ed worked his way up the ranks of Field Operations in Prevention Services with positions in Ohio, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Miami, before he changed disciplines to manage the Refugee Quarantine Program in Southeast Asia, out of the US Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand. One of the most memorable and fulfilling experiences in his career, however, occurred on a temporary duty assignment aboard the USNS Comfort. That’s really the only reason that, in a family that includes an Army lieutenant, specialist and two colonels, he was allowed to support Navy in the annual Army-Navy game. Ed’s last assignment with CDC took him to headquarters in Atlanta where he served as a senior official in the Immunization Program before his retirement in 2004.

In retirement, Ed first headed to the Florida Keys, where he was active in the Republican Party and his church. He used his vast skillset to set up hurricane evacuation and notification plans for his area, which proved to be more than a full-time job the year there were several hurricanes that threatened South Florida and the Keys. That’s when he decided to take up hunting as his hobby instead. He greatly enjoyed the hunting trips he made out west with friends, and he often spoke of how much he loved that area, especially Montana. Ed also spent several years in San Antonio and Houston, before returning to Atlanta in 2012 to be near his children and grandchildren, whom he doted on and loved dearly.

Ed also became interested in the plight of working Asian elephants that suffered from neglect and abuse at the hands of unethical owners. A proud supporter of Wildlife SOS, Ed never went anywhere without his “Raju bag,” a canvas satchel that he used to carry his emergency medical supplies. The bag featured a picture of Raju, an Asian elephant who was rescued from extremely harsh conditions by the organization, and that image started many a conversation about the group’s rescue efforts.

Ed lived a very full, meaningful and impactful life, dedicated to his family and public service. Each of us has more than one story of how Ed affected our lives and we will feel the residual effects of this loss for many years. Well, maybe everyone except the Republican National Committee, who is rumored to still be answering his emails about how they should handle things.

Ed loved to eat, loved to cook, and loved to share what he cooked with others. He knew how to cook just about anything because he had eaten just about anything during his extensive travels at home and abroad. Of course, all that binge-watching of the Food Network after he retired didn’t hurt either! His pies were legendary, and his 98 year-old mother Laura (of Atlanta), kids, five younger siblings Mary Campbell (and Tom of Massachusetts), Fran (and Pam of San Antonio), Kris (and Mike of Atlanta), Peg (and Jeff of Maryland), and Tricia (and Bruce of Massachusetts), along with Ed's numerous nieces and nephews are wondering who the heck is going to bake the pies for the next family gathering.

Ed was a gifted storyteller and conversationalist who genuinely loved people. He always found a way to break down barriers with his stories, humor and conversations about food, music, sports or the antics of his grandchildren. He had opinions about most things and wasn’t shy about sharing them, as many family members, friends, and the RNC know. But his uncanny ability to depict many of the colorful individuals he encountered throughout his life combined with his self-deprecating humor were perhaps the greatest source of our laughter over the years. (In fact, there is one incident involving packing tape, a misbuttoned Hawaiian shirt and a nervous post office employee that still makes us chuckle.) Even in his last months, when pain from the metastatic cancer that ravaged his body became unbearable, he was able to crack jokes and elicit heartfelt and genuine laughter from his caregivers, all of whom were touched by this great human.

Ed’s wit blossomed from his almost encyclopedic knowledge about many subjects, especially history, international events and sports. Not surprisingly, he was a voracious reader and had a large and eclectic collection of books, which he recently donated to the VA Hospital in Decatur, in honor of the many Veterans in our family. If there is any upside to his passing it is this: the Veterans have some great reading material and now someone else in the family can finally win at Trivial Pursuit.

We knew Ed was in pain and didn’t want to leave us so soon, but we are grateful that he was able to joke right up until the end. Life will definitely be less funny for us all, and we have no idea how we will laugh at family gatherings in the same way again. Ed wished to be cremated and to have his ashes interred in his beloved New England. A funeral service is planned for the summer. So until then, make a Cuban coffee, grab a book, and listen to some Pavarotti to honor the memory of our beloved brother, son, father, grandfather, uncle and friend Ed Yacovone. If you wish to make a donation, Ed requested that you consider Habitat for Humanity (habitat.org) St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (stjude.org) or Wildlife SOS (wildlifesos.org)

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