Edward S. Gaffney

Edward S. Gaffney

Edward S. Gaffney, 56, died peacefully in his sleep Tuesday, August 20, 2002 at his Akron home.

Ed, as he preferred to be called, was born in Wigan, England, the son of the late Nora and Ned Gaffney. At two years of age, he and his family moved back to Ireland where they lived until emmigrating to Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1955. 12 years later, Ed graduated from Manhat tan College with a degree in civil engineering and moved with his new bride, Dorothy, also from Brooklyn, to Wadsworth, Ohio to begin a career with Babcock & Wilcox in Barberton.

The young couple soon had their first child, Edward Jr., while Ed's career with Babcock & Wilcox was accelerating. While juggling a young family and work responsibilities, Ed also completed master's degrees in management (Case Western Re serve University) and engineering (University of Akron). After several years in Barberton and two addi tional children, Pamela and Patty, Ed was promoted to head the boiler division of Babcock & Wilcox's plant in Wilmington, N.C. The family moved from Wadsworth to Wilming ton, where they stayed until another promotion, this time to lead the nuclear equipment division of Bab cock & Wilcox in Akron, which brought them back to Ohio in 1980. With this promotion, Ed became the youngest vice president in the history of Babcock & Wilcox. While the family was in Wilmington, the youngest Gaffney child, Kathleen, was born.

In 1985, Ed was promoted to group vice president of McDermott Inc., the new parent company of Babcock & Wilcox. This promotion sent the Gaffney family to Singapore for several years, and then London, England for several more years. Another promotion and a final move with McDermott to Washington, D.C. brought the fami ly back to the United States.

Ed decided to leave the security of a large corporation in 1990 and venture into small business through the acquisition of Air Enterprises Inc. in Akron, a successful manufacturer of custom air handling equipment. This self-promotion moved the family back to Akron, where Ed was able to realize a lifelong dream of owning his own company and becoming deeply involved with a community he loved and could finally call home.

His dedication to family, compa ny, and community was felt by everyone. In addition to his position as CEO and former president of Air Enterprises Inc., as well as the chairman of Hudson Engineering, Ed was most recently nominated to serve as the president of the Sum mit County Chapter of the American Red Cross. Ed was also serving on the board of the Western Reserve Historical Society, Old Trail School, The United Way, Boy Scouts, ASH RAE, and the University of Akron School of Business. Ed is a past president of the Akron Community Foundation and Portage Country Club, and was serving on the board of directors for the Duracoat Corpo ration.

Prior to his purchase of Air Enterprises, he had served as Director of the Great Northern Financial Corporation of Ohio, as well as numerous McDermott International foreign subsidiaries and joint venture companies in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

His additional Directorships in clude the National Foreign Trade Council, Manhattan College Engi neering Council, Portage Path Com munity Mental Health Board, Junior Achievement of Akron, the Welding Research Council, Wilmington, N.C. Chamber of Commerce, SESA Ohio Chapter, as well as Trustee of Ak ron General Medical Center, Bar berton Area United Way, General Campaign Chairman, and N.C. State Engineering Foundation.

It is also with great sadness that he leaves recently reunited brothers of the ROTC Arnold Air Society of Manhattan College.

While an active marathon runner, having completed 16 mara thons in only 16 years, Ed enjoyed playing golf as well. He was the 1995 Pro-Am Winner at the NEC Golf Tournament. His love of sport was only exceeded by his love of life, a contagious spirit that will be deeply missed by all who were fortunate enough to know him.

Ed is survived by Dorothy, his loving wife of 34 years; son, Ed Jr.; and daughters, Dr. Pamela Coffey (Dr. Christopher), Patricia and Kathleen. Ed is also survived by his two younger brothers, Thomas and Michael, with additional extended family throughout the world.

Mass of Christian Burial Saturday, 10 a.m., at St. Vincent Church. Interment at Holy Cross Cemetery. Friends may call at the Hummel Funeral Home, 500 E. Exchange St., on Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. and Friday from 4 to 8 p.m. Donations in lieu of flowers, may be made to the Western Re serve Historical Society, The Sum mit County Chapter of the American Red Cross, The Akron Community Foundation, and Children's Hospital of Akron. (Hummel, A Golden Rule Funeral Home, 330-253-6126.)

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