THE DAYTONA BEACH NEWS-JOURNAL
Daytona Beach, Florida
Friday, August 25, 2006


Family and friends are invited to a celebration of the life of Edward H. McPartland Jr. at Craig-Flagler Palms Funeral Home located at 511 Old Kings Rd., Flagler Beach. He quietly passed on August 23, 2006, at Florida Hospital Palm Coast in the presence of his loving family. We will be gathering Saturday, August 26, from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 4 to 8 p.m. A funeral Mass will be Monday, August 28, at 11 a.m. at Santa Maria Del Mar Catholic Church.

A native of Queens, N.Y., Ed graduated from Sacred Heart High School in St. Albans, Queens. After enlisting in the Air Force, he met his bride to be, Rita, while stationed in Houston, Texas. They married in 1957 and raised a family in his hometown. He was a longtime member of the Electrician's Local 3 Union, first as an electrician apprentice and eventually as a successful contracting business owner. The couple retired in 1992 and moved to Flagler Beach, where they enjoyed entertaining family and friends. Known for his sense of humor, his interests also included golf and local politics.

Survivors include daughters, Theresa LiPuma, Eileen McPartland, Pamela Sansone and Erin McPartland; sons include James, Michael and Edward III. He will also be dearly missed by sisters, Ronnie Grande, Barbara Rynn, Ann Conrad, and by brother, Keven McPartland. Numerous nieces and nephews also share our loss.

Suggested donations, in lieu of flowers, may be made to the American Heart Association and the Flagler County Humane Society in Palm Coast.

Daytona Beach News-Journal (FL) - Saturday, August 26, 2006

A blind date and fate started a lifelong love affair for Edward H. Jr. and Rita M. McPartland of Flagler Beach. The couple, who had been married for 49 years, died Tuesday within several hours of each other. McPartland was 71. His wife was 75. 

McPartland was stationed in Texas with the Air Force when he met his future wife. Her girlfriend, who was dating a serviceman, set her up on a blind date with McPartland, according to their daughter, Pamela Sansome of New York City. 

Her mother was hesitant about a blind date and canceled, but McPartland pleaded for her to come because he was desperate to have a night off of the base, Sansome said. She was a country girl and he was a city-slicker, and it was his humor that took her breath away, their daughter recalled. 

"They couldn't live without each other; they relied on each other for everything," another daughter, Erin McPartland, said. "All of us kids knew that when one went, the other would not stay long." 

As it turned out, Rita died first, at home, family members said. They told their dad and within six hours, he died at a hospital. 

Edward McPartland, owner and operator of an electrical business, was a New York City native. Rita, a homemaker, was a native of Morgantown, N.C. They moved to this area in 1993 from Queens, N.Y. They were both members of Santa Maria del Mar Catholic Church and enjoyed bowling on the same couples' teams for many years. He enjoyed local politics, golf, fishing, building model airplanes, puzzles and entertaining with his sense of humor. She enjoyed music. 

Additional survivors include three sons, Michael, Palm Coast, and James and Edward III, both of New York City; two more daughters, Theresa LiPuma and Eileen McPartland, both of Bunnell. 

He was also survived by his brother, Kevin, Blairstown, N.J.; and three sisters, Veronica Grande, Deer Park, N.Y., Barbara Rynn, Easton, Pa., and Ann Conrad, Warrington, Pa. 

Mrs. McPartland's survivors include her brothers, Nolan Causby, Morganton, and Patrick Causby, Drexel, N.C.; her sisters, Frances Snyder, Asheville, N.C., Brenda Young, Swananoa, N.C., and Julia Graffan, Fairfax, Va. The couple had four grandchildren. 

Memorial donations for him may be made to the American Heart Association, 555 W. Granada Blvd., Suite A-1, Ormond Beach, FL 32174; or to the Flagler County Humane Society, 1 Shelter Dr., Palm Coast, FL 32137.

Her memorial donations may be made to Hospice of Volusia/Flagler, 3800 Woodbriar Trail, Port Orange, FL 32129 or the American Cancer Society, 1620 S. Clyde Morris Blvd., Suite 300, Daytona Beach, FL 32114.

Craig-Flagler Palms, Flagler Beach, is in charge.