Ed Costantini

1932 - 2022

Ed Costantini
December 26, 1932 - January 10, 2022
Davis, California - Edmond (Ed) Costantini, 89, professor emeritus of Political Science at UC Davis, father, grandfather and longtime Davis community member, passed away on January 10, 2022. His daughter Lisa and devoted caregiver Petero were at his side.
In addition to Lisa, Ed is survived by his grandson and namesake, Eddie Costantini and Eddie's partner Ruby; his sister and brother-in-law Nicole and Larry Berman; sister and brother-in-law Diane and Dennis Kintzel and many loving nieces, nephews and cousins. Aggie, his wife of 61 years, predeceased him in 2018.
Ed was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and raised in New York City. As a young man, Ed had a paper route in Manhattan delivering the dozen or so daily papers of that era. One perk of this job was being able to take home and read a wide variety of papers. This early experience led to his passion for politics and government and a rewarding career teaching, studying, researching and practicing politics. Ed was an idealist and believed in democracy, the party system and government as tools to be used for the benefit of all people. As a professor at UC Davis, Ed shared his passion for politics with thousands of students, many of whom were inspired by Ed to pursue lives of public service and in academia.
Ed received a BA from New York University and a Master's Degree from the University of Connecticut where he met his wife, Agnes. Ed and Aggie married in 1956 and headed West. After receiving his Ph.D. in Political Science from UC Berkeley, Ed and Aggie settled in Davis when Ed joined the UC Davis Political Science Department in 1964. Ed was an active member of the faculty until his retirement in 1994. After retirement Ed continued to play a role in university life where he served on many committees and was often called upon as an expert witness, consultant or speaker in his field.
In addition to a distinguished career in academia, Ed, an ardent Democrat, was always politically active. He served as Assistant to the California Campaign Manager for the John Kennedy presidential campaign in 1960 and was former Education Secretary to California Governor Edmund "Pat" Brown. In more recent years he was the Honorary co-chair of the UC Davis faculty for Barack Obama.
Ed cherished his relationships with family, friends and colleagues. He especially enjoyed his role as father and grandfather. One of his favorite places to spend time was on the deck of the family cabin overlooking Lake Tahoe while writing or reading the paper with a strong cup of coffee in hand. He had an incredible mind for numbers and loved beating the odds at Blackjack in Tahoe's many casinos where he was often greeted by name. With Aggie, Ed enjoyed and generously supported the arts. He would be the first to tell you how fortunate he was to have lived such a full and satisfying life.
In Ed's honor, please consider supporting the Mondavi Center or a newspaper of your choice. A memorial service will be held at a future date.