Edward Patrick Carrigan

Ed was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Edward and Marie Carrigan on August 17, 1941. He was raised in South Philadelphia until the age of 14 when the family moved to the suburban community of Springfield, Pennsylvania in Delaware County. He attended Saint Monica’s Elementary School in Philadelphia and Monsignor Bonner High School in Upper Darby. Ed went on to graduate from Villanova University where he earned his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in June 1963.

Following his undergraduate studies, Ed earned a commission as a United States Air Force officer after completing Officer Training School at Lackland Air Force Base (AFB) in San Antonio, Texas as a Distinguished Graduate in November 1963. He completed four years of active duty with the Air Force at the Air Proving Ground Center, Eglin AFB in September 1967. He subsequently earned a master's degree in electrical engineering from Drexel University in 1968, where he was also a graduate teaching assistant.

After completing his graduate degree, Ed joined the Mitre Corporation and worked in their Field Office with the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) National Facilities Experimental Center near Atlantic City, New Jersey. His career at Mitre spanned 44 years and included domestic and international projects that moved him and his family to New Jersey; Los Angeles; London, England, United Kingdom; Caracas, Venezuela; and ultimately to Mitre’s headquarters in McLean, Virginia.

Early in Ed’s career at Mitre, the FAA eventually selected the company to manage and operate a Federally Funded Research Center to support its work in developing a Next Generation Air Traffic Control System. Ed played a critical leadership and implementation role in this work, even being credited by his staff in the Washington Department that he managed as the “Father” of the FAA’s first Operational Prototype of Strategic Automation Aids for Air Traffic Controllers, for use in evaluating clearance requests and conformance to approved clearances. The integrated set of tools was aptly described as the User Request Evaluation Tools.

Building on years of research and experimentation by Mitre and FAA scientists and engineers, Ed was recognized as having conceived and managed the development and implementation of the first operational prototype capability of its kind at the Indianapolis Air Route Traffic Control Center in the late 1990s. FAA subsequently selected a production contractor to develop, commission, and deploy the capability at its En Route Air Traffic Control Centers nationwide.

In addition to his valued career accomplishments, Ed immensely enjoyed the life he built with his wife Louise. Ed and Louise were married in Middleburg, Virginia on June 6, 1988, at the Red Fox Inn and made their home in Annandale, Virginia. In April 2005, early in their semi-retirement years, they joyfully relocated to their home in Culpeper, Virginia. Ed continued to work with Mitre on FAA projects until his retirement in early April 2013.

Ed relished his experiences being a part of the Culpeper community, particularly as a member of Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church. He and Louise were active members of the Church congregation as regular volunteers and contributors to charitable ministries of the Church. Ed was most notably recognized for his work as the Church’s representative for several years on the Board of the Culpeper Winter Heat Shelter for the homeless.

Ed was preceded in death by his wife of 34 years, Virginia Louise Carrigan, his sister Marie Savage, and his first wife Martha Carrigan. He is survived by his children Erin Beisser, Gregory Carrigan, and Michael (Robert) Carrigan; stepdaughter Dana Carrigan; grandsons Brandon (Kayla) Beisser and Adam Beisser; step granddaughter Kayla Sharkey; great-granddaughters Norah Beisser and Charlotte Beisser; brother James (Betty) Carrigan and sisters Regina (Jack) Schuster, Patricia (Bob) Hunt, and Dorothy (Dave) Morris.

A memorial service for Ed will be held on Saturday, September 20 at 10 a.m. at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Culpeper, Virginia. In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made in Ed’s name to the Culpeper Community Food Closet.