Edward Rowan McGlynn

Our deeply loved husband, father and grandfather, Edward, age 92, resident of Edina, MN, passed away September 26, 2019. Preceded in death by his loving parents, William James and Mary Frances McGlynn (Ruane), sister Josephine Dougherty and his brother William McGlynn. Edward was a salesman and Regional Manager for IBM for 35 years. He was a beloved and respected manager who won the friendship and favor of those he managed. He won several prestigious sales awards while at IBM and consistently made the company's Golden Circle. Edward was a great manager because he worked incredibly hard and treated his staff and customers with the straight-forward kindness, respect and affability of a sincere friend. He kept in touch with IBM colleagues and friends for decades after his retirement. Edward was gifted with intelligence and a keen wit; earning a BA in Mathematics and a Master of Economics. As a young man, he literally read the dictionary from cover to cover. You could quiz him by randomly pulling a word from the dictionary and challenging him to define it. You would never stump him on a word, except for medical terms and newly added lingo, which he made clear did not count. Edward was great at telling jokes and was well known for his erudite clarity of thought and for his love of reading and poetry. He loved to quote Gray's Elegy, Yeats, Dickenson, Longfellow and so many others. As well, he wrote many wonderful, beautiful haikus and a few of these poems were published in a Hawaiian newspaper. Edward was a great adventurer and explorer for his whole life. He loved travel and went all over the world. When he was a young man, he loved hopping freight trains around the country. In the summer of 1949, he took a 1922 Packard (purchased for $50) on a road trip from St. Paul to Mexico with three friends. They survived for weeks on bananas, water and their wits; a story he told with a mix of pride and wonder at their survival. The adventuresome trip was a featured article in the Pioneer Press. He continued this passion for travel his whole life with his wife, Rosemary and with his six children. Edward and Rosemary saw the world together. They travelled all over the United States, throughout Europe, parts of Asia and as far as New Zealand. One of his great, though unrealized dreams was to take Rosemary on a working freight ship from the northernmost part to the furthest southern nation along the west coast of Africa. Rosemary said, "you go ahead on some godforsaken freight ship, but not me." Of course, he wouldn't go without his travel partner. Edward's primary love and dedication was for his wife and family of six children. He loved taking his whole family on short and long adventures across the United States. On weekends, he piled the kids into the car (giving Rose a chance to rest) and took them to parks, wilderness areas and so many other places to hike and explore. Then, for winter vacations, there were the many long, wonderful drives in the lime green station wagon going from Minnesota to Florida with more stories than may be said here. He sang us songs in the car, and we played endless games of road sign alphabet and 21 Questions. He loved driving his wife and children all over the country from the beaches of the south to the mountains of the west and the big cities of the east. He made sure we all grew up with adventures to talk about for a lifetime. In his retirement, he continued to work hard for his community. He served on the Hennepin County Library Board as a board member and as the president of the board. For several years, he served as the board chair for Tree Trust of Twin Cities. He volunteered with United Way for many years. Also, he fulfilled two life-long dreams in his retirement. He trained for and obtained his air pilot license and flew many solo flights in a small aircraft. He, also, became a train conductor for the streetcar at Lake Harriet and would conduct the streetcar several times a week for enthusiastic park goers. He loved telling the passengers about the history of the streetcar. He, also, became an accomplished sailor on Lake Superior. He owned a 30-foot Pearson sailboat that he shared with his daughter, Sara, his son, Ed and a friend. He loved sailing Superior around the Apostle Islands and adventuring out into its wide blue, grey expanse, where he once found himself in a harrowing situation as a terrible autumn storm descended upon him in mid-September forcing him to skirt the rocky bluffs and shores while being battered by enormous waves. He said he thought that truly was his end and you could tell he meant it but, also, you could tell he loved the adventure. Edward spent many days up at his cabin on Balsam Lake working on tree planting and trimming, gardening, keeping up his raspberry patch, restoring a century old farmhouse on the property and enjoying a beer with his wife while on the cabin deck looking over the east bay of the lake or, if by the farmhouse, overlooking a farm pasture, which he referred to as "his field of Arles." Throughout all his years, he loved his evening beer with his beautiful wife of 62 years, Rose. Edward's favorite parting phrase to those he loved and cared for was "Be of good cheer." Straight forward and profound like the man. Edward is survived by his beloved wife of 62 years, Rosemary and his six children Sara, Joel (Leslie), Nora (Rick), Edward Jr (Jessica), Molly (Martin) and Paul; grandchildren, Meghan, Sean, Kelly, Matt, Nick, Laura, Kylie, Zackary, Caylin, Shana, George and Owen. Funeral services will be held at 11 am on Thursday, October 10th at St. Gabriel's Church in Hopkins. Visitation on October 9th Wednesday evening from 4-8 pm at Washburn-McReavy in Edina on Vernon Avenue. Interment at Fort Snelling National Cemetery. Washburn-McReavy.com Edina Chapel 952-920-3996 West 50th St. & Hwy 100

Tributes

Edward Rowan McGlynn

March 9, 1927 - September 26, 2019

Tributes

Edward Rowan McGlynn

March 9, 1927 - September 26, 2019

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