On Saturday, December 12, 2020, my world grew a whole lot dimmer with the passing into Spirit of my beloved husband, and best friend, Edward Charles O’Melia. Ed had been ill for several months, and finally his body and spirit wearied of the battle, and his soul was commended into the hands of God. He was just 65 years old. Ed is survived by three lovi ng and beautiful daughters, Jennifer O’Melia Cummings and her husband, John; Mary O’Melia Stange and her husband Wes; and Rosalie O’Melia; grandchildren John Paul, Max, and Amelia; brother Richard O’Melia and his wife, Diana; sister Mary Sara O’Melia Cummings and her husband, Jeff; nieces Jillian and Jenna.
I shared only the last 10 years with Ed, so about his early life, I can only share what I have gathered from his surviving family and many friends and he did have MANY friends. After graduating from Wareham High School, in 1973, he was a proud 1977 graduate of Massachusetts Academy in Buzzards Bay.. His MMA classmates are a very close-knit group, like a caring family, or as they call themselves “a brotherhood”, and through the years I have been privileged to meet many of them. I want to thank them personally for the love and support they have shown us, and continue to show me, during Ed’s recent illness and especially this past weekend.
As a marine engineer, Ed spent 25 years of his life shipping out on the huge container ships that depart from major seaports all around the world. He spent a great of his life in Florida, Texas, and other places, establishing friendships everywhere he went. He had traveled to 4 continents and had numerous “sea stories”, which he loved to share. The life at sea is vastly different from the life that most of us know, and the bond that develops between long-time mariners is unique and amazing.
After retiring from service at sea, he opened a small restaurant in Cocoa Beach, Florida, and he was an excellent cook who could prepare anything from meatloaf to soups (his seafood gumbo was legendary, if you can take habanero peppers.) He even liked to grow his own habaneros and jalapenos.
Ed was an avid sports fan, especially football and baseball. Having lived in the Tampa Bay area, he especially loved his Rays and Buccaneers, but he kindly tolerated my affection for the Red Sox and Patriots. He was the only person in this household who was genuinely happy when Brady and Gronk signed with the Bucs. We made several pilgrimages to the baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
Ed opened up a new world for me—a world of music, travel, sports, friendship. I learned what the term “parrothead” meant, and what tailgating at a Jimmy Buffett concert was like! I know he packed a lot of living into his 65 “trips around the sun”. I will be forever grateful to God for letting me share the last decade of Ed’s life. I only wish there could have been many more. I miss you and love you, Mr. Ed. You’ll always be in my heart and the hearts of all the people whose lives you have touched.
A Funeral Mass will be held on Saturday, January 16, 2021 at 11AM in St. Mary’s Church, 789 Dartmouth St. Dartmouth, MA 02748 for all to attend. For on-line tributes and update on services, please visit our website at: www.waring-sullivan.com
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.9.5