Our family announces, with great sadness, that Edward Francis McGushin Senior passed away on the evening of Saturday, November 20th, 2010. He is survived by his beloved wife, Sandra, his two sons, Edward Junior and Brian, and three brothers, John, Robert, and James. He is also survived by his daughter-in-law Serena, and his three cherished grandchildren, Katie, Conor, and August. Edward was born on November 13th, 1938 in Sacramento, California. He graduated from the University of San Francisco in 1960 and earned a master's degree in international relations from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, in 1970.

During college he enrolled in the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps and was offered a regular commission in the US Army upon graduation. Edward went on to a distinguished and highly decorated twenty year military career. An Airborne Ranger and combat veteran he was stationed at "Checkpoint Charlie" in Berlin in 1961 when the Berlin wall was erected and served two combat tours in Vietnam, first in 1966 and again in 1972. He earned the Silver Star for heroic valor and bravery in combat.

Edward's final military assignment was in the office of the Army Chief's General Staff at the Pentagon. After retiring in 1980, at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, Edward began a successful and rewarding 18 year career with SRA International, a consulting firm located in Northern Virginia, where he became an expert in emergency response management. Sandra and Edward lived in Virginia for 28 years before moving to Farmington, CT in 2006. Edward was an imaginative and tireless servant of many diverse communities everywhere he went, including, in Virginia, the Fauquier County Fire and Rescue, Notre Dame Academy in Middleburg, and the Middleburg Community Center, and more recently, in Farmington, the Hill-Stead Museum, the Farmington Friends of the Library, the Country Club of Farmington, the 82nd Airborne Association, and the Chapel of the Four Chaplains. Edward lived for his family and his many friends and associates. He was an accomplished chef who loved good food shared with friends and family. He will be dearly missed. We know Edward's spirit will be with us always but especially when we sit down to share good food and every time we serve others.

Burial with full military honors will be in Arlington National Cemetery. The date and time for the burial and other services will be announced as soon as possible. Donations may be made to the Fauquier County Fire and Rescue, the Kenneth Colbert Elementary School Playground in Purcellville (contact Brian McGushin for information), or the charity of your choice.