Edwin Kiernan McCaffrey

After a lovely April 19th spent with his great grands, Edwin Kiernan McCaffrey slipped away peacefully during a little afternoon nap. He was 92 years old. In his memory, grab a Bourbon and Ginger or a Manhattan and enjoy his life story!

On a cold December 20, 1929, in Leominster, MA, Edwin Kiernan McCaffrey was born to Edwin Curry McCaffrey, a handsome house painter, and Bernice Kiernan McCaffrey, a lovely Irish lass who had arrived from County Longford just seven years earlier. He was the oldest of their six children and one of scores of McCaffreys who have lived near the mills of Clinton, MA since six McCaffrey brothers settled there after fleeing County Fermanagh during Ireland’s Great Potato Famine.

As a kid, Eddie was a good Catholic school boy and an excellent student. When he graduated at the top of his St. Bernard’s HS class, the nuns and his mum encouraged him to go to college. So, with not a nickel to his name, young Ed enrolled at Worcester Junior College and got a job digging ditches for the highway department. With his ditch digging earnings, he bought a Ford Fairlane and transferred to the University of Massachusetts. Daily, he drove that car 50 miles each way until he earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. Then, he was offered a commission in the Coast and Geodetic Survey (now the NOAA Corps) and an adventure beyond his wildest dreams.

In his 30 years, Ed rose from the rank of Ensign to Captain, sailed the Atlantic, Pacific, and Caribbean aboard NOAA research vessels, predicted tsunamis, charted our coasts, and participated in underwater atomic testing. Early on, he met a pretty college student waitressing in Plymouth, MA for the summer. Her name was Connie Fischer and she had big plans for a carefree summer until a handsome young man with a crooked smile offered her a ride in that Ford Fairlane.

Connie and Ed married on January 2, 1956, danced the night away, and drove south the next day to their first home in St. Petersburg, FL where Connie taught school while Ed was underway. Their next stop was Fredericksburg, VA, where they welcomed baby Joanne and then on to the territory of Hawaii where Mary Ellen was born. In Oakland, baby James joined the family during one of Ed’s rare inports between long cruises in the Pacific. In Virginia Beach, baby Bob completed the family before they headed to Palo Alto where Ed earned a Master of Science from Stanford. Then, the road warrior McCaffrey family moved, again, across the country, for the last time, to NOAA HQ in Maryland where Ed and Connie immersed themselves in raising their four kids. Ed helped with homework, coached soccer, officiated at swim and diving meets, and attended countless school concerts and piano recitals while also serving a final afloat tour as Commanding Officer of the NOAA ship Mount Mitchell surveying the waters off Ponce, Puerto Rico.

After hanging up his uniform, Ed donned a suit and tie to work on the Hubbell Telescope project but would put on that uniform several more times to commission children as Coast Guard officers and walk his two girls down the aisle.

Having grown up during the depression, Connie and Ed were amazing savers. They rarely ate out or splurged on anything except an annual summer vacation for their children. On one such vacation they discovered Lake Winnipesaukee and Wolfeboro, NH. Then they splurged on a sweet little house in a sweet little lakeside community. And then, to their children’s shock and amazement, they splurged on a brand-new Ski Supreme speed boat or as we fondly referred to it, “The Damn Boat.” They reveled in taking their children and grandchildren out in the boat, but mostly enjoyed the peace and quiet of their little slice of paradise until, in the spring of 2013, Connie passed just before Ed could take her north to their house in the woods. He was left to carry on without her and carry on he did – for nine years. He watched grandchildren marry and welcomed eight great grandchildren – delighting in each! He spent the last 6 years in the care of his children as Parkinson’s cruelly robbed him of his ability to walk and talk. He was cheerful and never ever complained and when his great grands were in the room, he would light up and muster a wink, toss a ball, or snap off a salute.

Ed McCaffrey was the first in his family to go to college and buy a car. He was the only member of his family to leave Massachusetts. He got to hold four babies of his own, six grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. He defied the odds by carrying on for nine years after losing his beloved bride of 57 years and six years after breaking his hip. His 92 years were rich beyond measure. We should all be as lucky as Ed.

Until the end, Ed enjoyed an evening Bourbon and ginger or a Manhattan with a good meal. In his memory, please consider donating to World Central Kitchen whose mission is to provide a good meal to those in need. www.wck.org

Ed’s family and friends will celebrate his life and return him to Connie’s side in Lakeview Cemetery, Wolfeboro, NH this summer.