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J. GUINAN Obituary
GUINAN J. EDWARD GUINAN Early Friday morning, December 26, 2014 in the Palisades, Washington, DC, Ed Guinan died peacefully in his home, surrounded by his loving family - wife, Kathleen; daughter, Sarah (Bob); his sons, Timothy, Matthew (Meredith) and John. Proud grandfather of Bobby, Maggie and Jack Nixon. He is survived by two brothers, Gregory of Denver, CO and Keith of Houston, TX; sister, Gabrielle of New Orleans, LA and mother-in-law, Mary Thorsby of Westport, CT. He is a beloved uncle, great uncle and brother-in-law to a large extended family. Born March 6, 1936 in Denver, CO, to Gabrielle Huot Guinan and Edward Thomas Guinan. At 18 years old, he enlisted in the US Navy and after service to his country, studied international finance at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Ed began his career as a stock trader in San Francisco. He moved to Washington, DC in the 1960's to study Theology at St. Paul's College. After ordination, he served as Associate at the Newman Center of George Washington University. Ed Guinan was an activist, author, lecturer and leader, but above all he was a man that saw injustice in the world and sought to change it. He crafted solutions and implemented them. Among his many contributions in 1970, Ed founded the Community for Creative Non Violence (CCNV). In 1972, CCNV opened Zacchaeus Soup Kitchen and in 1974 Zacchaeus Medical Clinic, serving the city's hungry and homeless for over 30 years. In 1979, Ed authored the Statehood Initiative to establish full self-government for the residents of Washington, DC. The city's voters overwhelmingly approved the Statehood Initiative in 1980, setting in motion a legal process to write the constitution for the State of New Columbia and advocate in Congress for the passage of a Statehood bill. He also worked for over two decades to increase opportunities for developmentally disabled adults through Wellspring Ministries in Fairfax, VA. Ed dedicated his life to social justice and service to others. Family will receive friends Monday, December 29 from 6 to 8 p.m.; Prayers 7:30 p.m. at DeVol Funeral Home, 2222 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Washington, DC (Valet Parking). A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, December 30 at Holy Trinity Church, 3513 N Street, NW. Memorial contributions may be made in Ed's honor to Crossway-Community www.crossway-community.org. www.crossway-community.org.
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Memories and Condolences
for J. GUINAN
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Steve Cleghorn
December 22, 2021
An unforgettable man.
Bagley William
December 22, 2019
Understanding the weight of the loss of a father, I wanted only to remind the entire Guinan family that this St. Bonaventure family connection will keep you all in our prayers. May Ed's memory be an abiding gift to you all, as well, and make Christmas a time of fond appreciation for the very good life that he lived ... and all that he inspires still. Fondly, Bill & Mary Bagley (parents of Billy Bagley)
September 28, 2016
Kathleen. If this guest book is still active, I send my best wishes to you and your family. I learned so much from you and Ed and remember my time with you on Q street with fondness and love. Lots and lots of love, Nancy Osborne.
Danielle Pindell - Calabrese
September 7, 2015
So sorry to hear of the passing of a wonderful man. Your family will be in our prayers, and we wish you peace and strength. With love from Claire Pindell and Danielle Calabrese
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Cathleen Huttlinger Strong
January 23, 2015
Dear Kathleen and Family,
Our thoughts and prayers are with you all. You both played a huge role in shaping the lives of the St. Augustine's Teen Club and we are all better people because of it. My time spent at Zacchaeus House and Soup Kitchen was life changing and a privilege. Ed will be missed.
Scott Wright
January 16, 2015
Our hearts and prayers go out to you Kathleen and your family. I give thanks for Ed's life, a beautiful Gospel witness, true friend of the poor, and a wonderful friend. He lives on in all of us who were privileged to know him, and most especially in you and your family. Thank you for your shared life of love. We are all better human beings for it.
January 6, 2015
Ed was one of my oldest friends; fun-loving and a dedicated, activist who championed the poor and dispossessed. We'll miss him. Carol & Joe McLaughlin
Greg Williams
January 5, 2015
Ed, YOU blessed my life as teacher and mentor. I continue that deepening journey into Nonviolence that you shared with so many. The struggle continues and your gifts are shared on the path...
Mary norberta
January 5, 2015
Dear Kathleen & family ,
Sympathy on your loss of Ed.
He left an enduring legacy &
God has called him home.
You are in our prayers
Sr Mary Norberta & Felician
Sisters
Henry & Jane Stoever
January 5, 2015
God blessed us with Ed, a prophet in our time, and an advocate for non-violence. May the seeds of Ed's work continue to bear fruit.
Johnny Zokovitch
January 5, 2015
Hello Guinan family, I never had the chance to meet Ed but have heard stories of him and have admired him from afar. I am grateful for his witness for peace and justice in our world and I celebrate all he stood for.
Thanks,
Johnny Zokovitch
Director of Communications, Pax Christi USA
Nechama Masliansky
January 5, 2015
The DC homeless services and advocacy community is saddened to learn of the passing of a pioneer and hero. Condolences to the family.-- Nechama Masliansky, Senior Advocacy Advisor, SOME, Inc., and Coalition of Housing and Homeless Organizations
Bruce & Barb Fairbairn
January 4, 2015
Condolences and love to Kathleen and family. Ed seemed a good and Godly man who did so much for "the least of these."
Pat, Bill and Maura Green
January 4, 2015
Dear Kathleen, John and family,
Maura just sent us the WP obituary and we talked about our time at Holy Trinity and your inspiring family that was so generous and real. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
January 3, 2015
Sad to hear of Ed's death. I, too, worked at the soup kitchen at the CCNV while I was a student at St. Paul's College.
Pat Hensy, CSP
Barbara Cody Smith
January 2, 2015
Thoughts and prayers to Kathleen and family.
Melanie Walters (Martin)
January 1, 2015
My prayers of comfort go to Kathleen and your dear family. Ed's impish smile always seemed to precede an action on a policy he felt convinced of and of course his wisdom compelled action. I am so much richer for sharing those years with the clinic and sharing discussions & prayers with Ed and others at CCNV. His
was a challenging voice to so many of us and made profound changes in many lives.
John Boucher
January 1, 2015
Kathleen,
My condolences to you upon Ed's death. He was a transformative figure in my life..especially with the founding of the Peace Study House in the early 70's. It was through the Sunday evening Mass at the 23rd Street House that Laura and I first met --and Ed was one of the concelebrants at our wedding almost 42 years ago! I remember with fondness Ed's dream of buying a VW bus in order to start the shelter for homeless men, and of the delight in his eyes when he retold the story of Mother Teresa visiting the soup kitchen. Ed and the early members of CCNV (including yourself) still model for me the essence of Christlike behavior. I remain filled with gratitude for having known him...and for our shared experiences with CCNV.
Shalom,
John (and Laura) Boucher
Wesley Robinson
December 31, 2014
It was pleasure to serve with Ed on his initiative supporting adults with disabilities. Ed was a great advocate for those who didn't have a voice. I admired his fighting spirit. My heart felt condolences to you (Kathleen) and your family.
December 31, 2014
I AM SORRY THAT I NEVER HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET THIS GREAT MAN WHO DEVOTED HIS LIFE HELPING OTHERS.
HIS LIFE ACHIEVEMENTS ARE AN INSPIRATION TO ALL OF US.
MY THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS ARE WITH THE FAMILY.
GI GI TSU
John Mikos
December 31, 2014
I have the most wonderful memories of Ed during the early Zacchaeus soup kitchen days. It was a special time. I am thankful that he was a part of my childhood. May his spirit continue to live on in us.
Steve Cleghorn
December 31, 2014
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once called himself "a drum major for justice." I will remember Ed Guinan as a kind of beat poet exhorting God's people to act justly. He had the poetry of faith and compassion within him that moved others to respond wholeheartedly to injustices. He was an impish, talkative, radical activist with a genius for deeply Christian forms of agitprop. He turned my life in a radically new direction 41 years ago as I exited an Army stockade for resisting the war, inviting me to come to DC to see his Community for Creative Nonviolence. I responded to his call, as did many others, and I have been much the better man ever since.
shelley douglass
December 31, 2014
We have fond memories of Ed and profound respect for all he did. He leaves a legacy that will continue in all the lives he touched. Hugs to Kathleen and prayers of comfort to all the family.
Steve Cleghorn
December 31, 2014
Martin Luther King Jr. once preached at his Atlanta church that if people wanted to remember him as a leader, they should remember him as "a drum major for justice." I will remember Ed Guinan as a kind of beat poet for God's people acting justly. He had the poetry of faith and compassion within him that moved others to respond wholeheartedly to injustices. This was an inspirational man - an impish, talkative, radical activist with a genius for deeply Christian forms of agitprop. He was also a great husband and father as I heard from his children at the Funeral Mass. He turned my life in a radically new direction 41 years ago as I exited an Army stockade for resisting the war while in ranks, inviting me to come to DC to see his Community for Creative Nonviolence. I responded to his call and met there my first wife and mother of my children, Claire Marie Carmody, joining her and CCNV on Palm Sunday 1973. She had responded in 1972 to Ed's call, along with Kathleen. He had asked these two single mothers to bring their children to the heart of poverty in DC and open up a soup kitchen, and they said yes. The kitchen was named after the gospel character Zacchaeus, a wealthy tax collector inspired by Jesus to pay back to the poor four times what he may have taken from them. In that kitchen's name was the gist of the journey Ed had embarked upon in his life and to which he ultimately invited many hundreds of others.
Richard Sparks, C.S.P.
December 31, 2014
I worked at the Soup Kitchen during my student days and admired Ed and his work greatly.
Lin Romano
December 30, 2014
I am sad that I was unable to celebrate Ed's life with others at his service. He was a positive influence in my life, encouraging me as a teenager to join community and live a life of service. He joins the great cloud of witnesses looking over us now. My sympathies to Kathleen, Sarah, Timothy, Matthew, John and all family and friends who were close to him.
C. Johnson
December 30, 2014
May you continue to feel love and support from family and friends as you celebrate a life well lived.
The CCNV Board of Directors
December 30, 2014
May you forever have a home to shelter you, may you always have someone to take care of you in your time of need, may someone always love and comfort you; as you have done for your life here on Earth, may this be unto you for eternity. Thank you Ed for your time onboard.
December 29, 2014
As one who loved the poor and Non violence
you will always be in ourprayers
Jim and Julie Canary
December 29, 2014
Our deepest condolences to the Guinan family. We heard of Ed's death at Holy Trinity on Sunday. I was seated next to Sr. Regina and we began reminiscing about our years at school. We are deeply saddened. Our prayers are with you. Ed, Peggy and Heather Garlich
Maggie Louden
December 29, 2014
Our lives were better for knowing and being loved by Ed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all his family and community. He is missed.
Jim and Mary La Croce
December 29, 2014
Condolences, Kathleen and family, and yet, at the same time, joy at a life well-lived, as a mandate of the Gospels. A life of faith and a zeal to serve.
Monica Rokus
December 29, 2014
Kathleen, our family extends most sincere condolences to you and your family.
Fr. John Mudd
December 29, 2014
I am privileged to have known Ed and his family from the early days of CCNV. I admired him for his advocacy for the poor and the voiceless and admired him even more for the witness he gave as a husband and father to a wonderful family. May he rest in eternal peace and may his family be comforted by their faith in the God of love and mercy.
CCNV exec dir REHarris
December 29, 2014
Einstein said "Imagination is more powerful than Information". What Ed started in 1970 has blessed thousands and thousands of people in need even up to this moment. The Community for Creative Non Violence volunteer staff will always honor the memory of'J. Edward Guinan' with a large portrait of him titled "Founder of CCNV". On behave of the CCNV Board of Directors and all the volunteer staff over the many many years, may you rest in peace Ed and job well done 'Man of GOD'.
Mary-Beth Phillips ( Sunny Prokop)
December 29, 2014
My deepest sympathies to the entire Guinan family. Ed was a remarkable man who pushed the parameters of social justice in the US. I was a musician with the Newman Community at GW during his seminary days and the early days of his priesthood and will never forget being around his challenging thinking.
Blessed is the path on which you go, o soul...for a peaceful place has been prepared for you.
Mary Ellen Hombs
December 29, 2014
Rest in Peace Ed Guinan, 12/26 – Ye who now will bless the poor, shall yourselves find blessing.
A life lived with love for the Gospel, his family, and the poorest and most vulnerable among us.
Sam Smith
December 29, 2014
A great guy
Linda Coleman Hays
December 29, 2014
So very sorry to hear of your loss, sending love from the Coleman's in Albuquerque.
Ed Gabris
December 29, 2014
It was a privilege to serve with Ed on the WellSpring Board of Directors. He was dedicated serving the disabled and unfortunate.
David Smith
December 29, 2014
As a Paulist seminarian, Ed shaped the direction of my life. Working in the Community for Creative Nonviolence gave me the experience of what it means to live social justice. I think Ed will walk straight through the Gates of Heaven and start arguing with God about why so many suffer.
William & Mary Bagley
December 29, 2014
Dear John, Kathleen and members of the Guinan family, we wanted to let you know that you are all very much in our thoughts and prayers after hearing the news of Ed's passing. We all have so much to learn, such great example to follow from your husband and father's extraordinary life. On hearing the news Robert Kennedy's line came immediately to mind:
Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.
May God bless Ed for the great good he did in this world and my God bless the entire Guinan family which joined him in sending out that ripple of hope.
William & Mary Bagley (Bill's mom and dad)
The Laposa-Fisher Family
December 29, 2014
An incredible man who has made a huge difference in the lives of so many. You will be missed. Our love goes out to the Guinan family.
Bob Mulderig
December 29, 2014
Kathleen, I am so sorry to learn this sad news. I am praying for you at this difficult time, and sending wishes for peace and healing.
December 29, 2014
our thoughts are with you. peter and pat harkness
McCarthy
December 29, 2014
I am so sorry for your loss. May the Most High God comfort you as you mourn the loss of your loved one. (Psalm 83:18)
December 29, 2014
Ed's beautiful achievments will remain in our memories, his love for poeple and for the most disgraced ones is the testimony for the most beautiful feature of humankind.
Marie-Gabrielle and Georges Baguet Lyon, France
Ricky Davis
December 29, 2014
My condolence goes out to the Guinan family over the passing of a wonderful man
Jamaican Crew
December 29, 2014
We are very saddened to hear of your recent loss,we are thinking of you and your family as you elebrate your father's remarkable life and the memories you shared.
jess and ted deutsch
December 28, 2014
Honoring and remembering Ed with love and respect for his life, his work, his family, his powerful legacy of generosity of spirit and respect for humanity.
Marcella Bernethy
December 28, 2014
Dear Kathy and family,
My thoughts and prayers are with you as you bear the loss of your dear husband, friend and father. Cherish the beautiful memories you have of your life together. Ed sure followed the path that God gave him to walk on.
CCNV
December 28, 2014
The CCNV community mourns him. We have had many messages on our facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/TheCCNV
Dale
December 28, 2014
I recall seeing a copy of a book written by Ed Guinan. He compiled an anthology about Appalachia, It was called "Redemption Denied," and it was a resource guide for churches, schools, groups and individuals. It was featured in Gamaliel, a Catholic Pacifist Quarterly that was published in Washington, D.C. Does anyone know if Gamaliel is still in existence? Sure will miss Ed.
December 28, 2014
A man who truly left his mark on others, always for the better. We will miss him dearly but know he will live on in any good we may do.
Ann and Don Byrne
John Collins
December 28, 2014
Condolences upon hearing of death of Eddie G. Was on seminary with him in sixties john collims
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