Edward McCOY

McCOY, Edward Edward Fitzgerald McCoy, 78, of Atlanta died peacefully on January 1st, 2017 at his home. Mr. McCoy is survived by the love of his life, his beloved wife Sharon Connolly-McCoy; the children he treasured: Mary Clare (McCoy) Smith, and her husband, Thomas Smith, of Ormond Beach, Florida; Leonard Edward McCoy, II, and his wife, Yadira (Nieves), of Virginia Beach, Virginia; and Edward Fitzgerald McCoy, Jr., and his wife Maggi (Fowler), of Clayton, North Carolina; the grandchildren he loved with such pride: Taylor Ann, Colin Edward, Xavier Michael, and Corbin Leonard; and his dear sisters: Marian Elizabeth (Betsy McCoy) Beasley, and Mary Lee McCoy, and her husband Michael Simonds of Windham, Vermont. Mr. McCoy is preceded in death by his parents and his brother, William Robert (Bill) McCoy, all of St. Joseph, Missouri and Conger Beasley, Jr. of Kansas City, Missouri. Ed McCoy was born July 11, 1938 in Enid, Oklahoma the son of Leonard Edward McCoy and Florence (Fitzgerald) McCoy. He spent his early years in Pensacola, Florida where his father was stationed as a naval officer during WWII. The family moved to St. Joseph, Missouri in 1946 where his father opened a surgical and medical supply business, and his mother taught high school English and journalism. Ed McCoy attended St. Joseph public schools and graduated from St. Joseph Central High School. He attended Park University and received his Bachelors degree In Political Science. He graduated from Western Michigan University in 1969 with a Masters degree in Rehabilitation of the Blind. Ed furthered his education as a fellow at the Institute for Infant and Child Study at the University of Maryland. After teaching four years at Missouri School for the Blind, Ed became the first degreed, certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist to serve blind children in the State of Maryland (1969-1978). During that same time Ed was the Disabilities Consultant for the television program "Mr. Rogers Neighborhood". He was also a Rehabilitation Volunteer at both Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Bethesda Naval Hospital serving combat blinded servicemen returning from the Vietnam Conflict. Ed was the founding executive director of Florida's Conklin Center for Multi-handicapped Blind (1979-2000), and the founding director for The Disabilities Ministry of the Archdiocese of Atlanta (2001-2012). He was also a catechist certified for all age levels of the children's religious education program "Catechesis of the Good Shepherd", a program he cherished and promoted. Ed was an educator at heart. He was kind and soft-spoken, and always had time to answer a question or solve a problem, no matter how small. Ed fully enjoyed life with a hearty sense of humor, and is dearly missed by his loved ones. They celebrate the fact that he has entered into the judgement of the Lord. A funeral liturgy is scheduled for January 5, 2017 at St. Pius X Catholic Church, in Conyers, Ga., with the rite of committal to follow in Honey Creek Woodlands Burial Grounds at The Monastery of the Holy Spirit. Deacon Brian Kilkelly will officiate at the ceremony. All are welcome to attend and celebrate Ed's life. A reception will follow at his home. The family suggests memorial gifts to The Piedmont Healthcare Foundation designated for The Chapman Cancer Wellness Center of Atlanta.