RICHARD EDELMAN

EDELMAN--Richard Matz,

beloved husband of Anne Coyne Holbach, died peacefully at his home in Manhattan on May 25, 2016, at the age of 85. A lawyer and teacher, he had a keen intellect that led him to public service and a career that made him a staunch defender of civil liberties. He was passionate about the arts, in particular poetry, and was a devotee of Shakespeare, Winston Churchill, and Mozart. Born in Brooklyn, he graduated from Poly Prep Country Day School, and earned degrees from Harvard College and Harvard Law School. His first job as a lawyer was working as an assistant district attorney in New York County under Frank Hogan. He went on to work as a prosecutor in Washoe County, Nevada, and later served as counsel at the United States Department of Energy in Washington, D.C. He also worked as a lawyer in private practice in Washington and New York and taught social studies at the Fieldston School in the Bronx. His grandfather was Israel Matz, who founded the Ex-Lax Corporation. In addition to his wife, he is survived by his two sons, David Armstrong Edelman, and his wife Yahne Miorini, and Jonathan Sams Edelman, as well as his sister, Louise Sagalyn, and two grandchildren, Antoine and Annabel Edelman. Visitation will be on Sunday, June 5, from 5pm to 7pm at Frank E. Campbell; a funeral service will be held there on Monday, June 6 at 11:30am, followed by a reception at the Harvard Club between 5pm and 8pm.