Edward (Ed) August Daniel

Ed was born August 18th, 1936, in Sandusky, OH, the youngest of Cyril and Eleanor Daniel’s five children. He was a natural scholar, gifted piano student and learned his life’s lessons from his parents and older siblings. He graduated from St. Mary’s Catholic HS in 1954, and majored in civil engineering at the University of Detroit from where he graduated in 1959.

Ed obtained his master’s degree in urban planning from Yale University in 1961. It was there in New Haven, CT, where he met the love of his life, Patricia "Pat" Ryan of New Britain, CT. Ed and Pat married on June 30, 1962. The young couple moved to Lansing, MI, where Ed’s career as a transit engineer began with the Michigan Department of Transportation (DOT). Fatherhood followed soon thereafter with their first born, daughter Ann Marie, in 1963. His career then took him east to Lancaster, PA, in 1964 with the Pennsylvania DOT. The family grew to include sons Paul, in 1966, and Thomas in 1967.

Ed and his family moved to Silver Spring, MD in 1969 where he would begin a three decade career with the Montgomery County government from which he retired in 2001. He was instrumental in starting the county’s RideOn bus service and led much planning to support transit interconnection and parking development to support Metrorail’s Red Line growth. Ed and Pat’s youngest child, Timothy, arrived in 1970. Ed kept busy with his children’s upbringing and continued a rich family life when they moved to Rockville in 1977. Ed was very active in the St. Bernadette (Silver Spring) and St. Mary’s Catholic Churches (Rockville) throughout his adult life. Ed enjoyed playing the piano, tennis, genealogy research, history, telling “dad” jokes, and maintaining a beautiful yard.

Ed was predeceased by his parents, his sister Mary, and his brothers William and Robert. Ed is survived by his wife Pat, brother John (Ann), daughter Ann Marie Daniel (Brian), and sons Paul (Sue), Thomas (Lee), and Timothy (Tracey). His family will remember him lovingly for his kindness, dry humor, and positive outlook. He was a man who embodied his faith every single day.

A 9:30am Visitation and 10:30am Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Rockville on Thursday, May 29, 2025 with burial immediately following at Gate of Heaven cemetery in Silver Spring.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society or to a favorite charity.