Edward (Ed or “Joe”) Allen Austin was born September 10, 1934 in Brookline, NH to Ellsworth and Elizabeth Catherine (Kate) Austin. He is the oldest of four children, followed by Carol, Ralph and Ellsworth (Elly). Ed’s first hours of life were precarious. The home birth was complicated and while other family members tended to his mother, his grandmother revived him and kept him warm. He often told this story and felt like his whole life was borrowed time. Maybe that’s why he was so generous and gave back to others. Anyone that knew Ed experienced what a kind, caring, honest, loving soul he had.
At a young age Ed got the nickname “Joe” after he tripped in the woods and his father shared the rhyme “Joe, Joe stubbed his toe, riding on a buffalo”. Most of his family and New Hampshire friends knew him as Joe. When he moved to Connecticut as an adult, he went by Ed and you can often tell how someone knows him based on which name they call him.
Ed was an adventurous child. He grew up on a family homestead and learned how to build, repair and create objects, mill wood, raise animals and tend your own land early on. He had many fond memories of playing with cousins and friends in Brookline, hiking, camping, playing baseball, and generally getting into trouble. He met the love of his life, Faith (Quimby) Austin, in elementary school but they didn’t start dating until high school when he conveniently showed up to “help” her babysit. Many of their stories and adventures were together, so it’s hard to separate their lives.
Ed was in the Army National Guard as a young man. He joined after high school and trained at Fort Drum in New York. He served in the NH National Guard for 4 years active duty and 2 years inactive reserves. He enjoyed the camaraderie and service.
Ed and Faith got married, shortly after his nineteenth birthday on September 12, 1953. They began their family and had their first son, Daniel Austin, in 1954 and second son, Warren Austin, in 1957. They moved from New Hampshire to Connecticut for an apprenticeship program at Pratt and Whitney Aircraft. This became his lifelong career. He worked his way up to being General Foreman of the Tool and Die department, where he spent decades running the shop like a well-oiled machine. He worked second shift during the years he was raising his children. He was a mentor and cherished colleague to many there.
Ed was very much a family man. He had four grandchildren, and helped raise many other nieces, nephews and relatives. His son Dan married Gail Esty and they had Danielle (1982) and Courtney (1986). Warren married Laura Honeychurch and they had Becky (1982) and Ally (1985). Both families lived in Mansfield and spent countless hours at Ed and Faith’s home. Ed put in a swimming pool and the girls grew up spending weekends together, swimming, playing with the cows and causing mischief.
Ed and Faith designed their own home and built it themselves, in pieces, using lumber from Ed’s father’s land. The lumber was planed at Faith father’s sawmill. The center piece of the house is a stone fireplace with the shape of Connecticut in the middle. Their home was a safe haven for hundreds of people over the years. They took in family members, friends and college students for days, weeks, months and sometimes years at a time. He was known as “Uncle Joe” to many. They always had an open door policy and it was common to have a crowd at their house on any given day. People often associate this hospitality with Faith, but Joe was a consistent presence as well. He was affectionately called “Steady Eddie” and could be found behind the scenes making sure everyone was taken care of.
Ed loved nature and being outside. He was always busy. As a young man he spent time camping and hunting with his cousins, many of whom he considered to be his best friends. Ed had stories of camping and hiking in the White Mountains, sometimes where you weren’t supposed to be, from the time he was a teen until much later when he brought his own children and teens he mentored. He took several bicycle trips from Storrs, Connecticut to Brookline, New Hampshire with his church’s youth group.
Ed was a spiritual man. In his thirties he talked to some evangelicals about religion and in his argument with them talked himself into being a believer. He attended the First Baptist Church of Mansfield for more than 5 decades. He was active on many committees and actively raised funds, provided mentorship and welcomed people into the faith community. When his own children were teenagers he and Faith were the leaders of the Baptist Youth Fellowship (BYF) and mentored teens, took them camping and biking, and became a second home for most. He told stories of coming home to find teens waiting at their house for them, sometimes just looking for someone to connect with. They spent 15 years leading the BYF, long past their own children being part of the group. Many of those former teens considered Ed and Faith to be second parents and stayed in touch with them for decades, their children considering Ed and Faith bonus grandparents.
He retired early, at age 53, and this allowed he and Faith to travel and enjoy a long retirement. They bought a camper van and traveled the country. One of their favorite trips was to Alaska. They also spent months following the Lewis and Clark trail, meticulously planning before they left (before there was GPS and smart phones). Ed and Faith were easily recognizable in their camper van as it was their primary vehicle. Many children over the years used it as a play house and pictures of their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren lined the inside of the van. One of Ed and Faith’s most memorable trips was to Israel and Egypt in 1986. While there, they got caught in domestic terrorism and there was a fire at their hotel. It was a harrowing experience, in which Ed and Faith almost died. Eventually they were rescued by the Egyptian Army and were able to fly home. This was a story told often, mostly to share the spiritual connections they shared with others before and during this experience.
Ed was passionate about serving his community and in his retirement was more actively involved in charity work. He was known for coordinating an annual Super Bowl grinder fundraiser for many years and he and Faith supported church suppers for many years. In 1984, he and other religious leaders started an organization called Windham Area Interfaith Ministry (WAIM). He spent nearly four decades building programming, serving on the board, co-creating and running the local Steeple Chase bike tour, and volunteering. The annual Steeple Chase is going on 31 years and is one of his great legacies and has been a huge fundraiser for programs at WAIM. After days spent painting lines and setting up the route, Ed was especially fond of stopping by the “Holy Cow Family Shelter” to visit with bikers and see what shenanigans his dear friend David Stevens was up to. He was honored by WAIM in the development of the annual ‘Ed Austin Outstanding Citizenship Award’ in 2014, continually recognizing the hard working volunteers serving those in need.
As President of the Board of Juniper Hill Village (he also served as vice president and treasurer), Ed was involved in any and all aspects that entailed infrastructure. He facilitated numerous projects including obtaining funding for the Green Retrofit Program, conversion of apartments to assisted living units and establishing a new maintenance and winter storge facility for the grounds crew.
His family estimates that between all of his volunteering he helped raise upwards of $1 million in donations for charity. Ed was incredibly humble, and whether it was in writing or conversation, rarely took credit for the work he did. He often thanked others and highlighted their involvement over his own. In conversation you got a sense of his knowledge, but never really knew the extent of his contributions. He was grateful and gracious in every part of his life.
Ed was a man of many talents. He cared for beef cattle for over 60 years at his home in Storrs. He was in the FFA as a young man and enjoyed the animal husbandry, teaching his children and grandchildren to care for the cows and loved to share the meat with his family. Many locals know “the red house with the cows”.
Ed learned how to fly an airplane in the 1970’s and spent about a decade flying friends and family around New England in a small plane (mainly between CT and NH but also to Martha’s Vineyard), and as far away as Florida and Louisiana.
Ed learned how to play the banjo and would play music in the family home. He often liked to play with his brother-in-law Loring. He and Faith especially loved cajun music, folk music and attended festivals and listened to a variety of music over the years. He was always open to listening to new music, even learning about new bands from his granddaughter’s husbands.
Ed spent his adult years as a devoted husband and father. His family recounts that you often didn’t know what Ed’s “favorite” of anything was. If you asked about meal preference or what he wanted to do for an activity, he was happy to let others choose. The only preference we knew for sure was his love of lemon meringue pies. He was accommodating in an understated way. He was honest, humble and kind. He demonstrated and expected integrity in others. He always thought about others first, and forever put Faithie before himself. Ed was known for his steady, even keeled nature, his patience, his laughter and silliness, his pure goodness, his faith, his love, his warm embrace, and his practical knowledge. He was always interested in what others had to say. He was a good listener and would bring up something you said later in conversation, remembering details and being genuinely curious about the outcome. He was also a good storyteller and could spend hours talking to just about anyone.
Faith passed away on May 20, 2020 and this loss was profound for Ed. He and Faith were married for 66 years. Their shared experiences are too many to share in this brief document. You could truly write a book based on their lives…indeed, Faith did write three, based on her experiences as a child growing up in rural New Hampshire as well as her travels and adventures with Ed. He carried her ashes around with him most of the time. He deeply appreciated the support he got from the community after her death. He continued on with his small farm, tending to the cows and Faithie’s pool. Grandaughters came with their husbands, sons and daughters-in law still came still came for regular family visits, chores and laughter while a new generation of babies swam and played and kept his heart full. In the last two years of his life he reconnected with an old friend, Jeannie Spaulding, who lived in Nebraska. Her husband had been Faith’s cousin. Daily phone calls developed into a close friendship and love. He had the opportunity to go to Nebraska in 2021 and meet her four sons and get a wonderful taste of her world. She came for a visit, accompanied by her son Rick in late May 2022, so she could see a bit of his world as well. They had the opportunity to visit his hometown of Brookline, and meet up with his sister-in-law Pammy and her girls.
Ed, Uncle Joe, Grandpa Joe, Dad, Pops… a man who never wasted a moment, who lived in the service of helping others, who never stopped laughing…a life well lived and well loved.
Ed passed away peacefully at home, after enduring bone cancer and then getting pneumonia, on June 4, 2022. He is survived by his children, Daniel (m. Kerry Landeck) Austin and Warren (m. Laura Austin) Austin, his grandchildren, Danielle (m. Neal Austin) Austin, Becky (m. Trevor Parton) Parton, Ally (m. Eric Lalumiere) Lalumiere, and Courtney Austin, and his great grandchildren Naomi Austin, Blake Austin, Anthony Austin, Eleanor Parton, Josiah Parton, Leonie Lalumiere, Lauren Lalumiere, Brianna Fulton, Emily Fulton, Jacob Fulton and Owen Fulton, along with many beloved nieces, in particular a close bond with Nettie Quimby, nephews, bonus family members, his sister Carol Mattson, and sister in law Pam Austin. He is predeceased by his brothers Ellsworth ‘Elly’ Austin, and Ralph Austin.
Calling hours will be held 5-7pm on Friday, July 15, 2022 at the First Baptist Church of Mansfield, RT 195, Storrs CT.
A combined funeral service for Ed and Faith will be held 10am Saturday, July 16, also at the First Baptist Church of Mansfield. A celebration of Life luncheon will begin at 11am in the FBCM community room. The burial service at the Spring Hill Cemetery will be for the family.
Charitable donations may be given to:
Windham Area Interfaith Ministry https://waimct.org/
First Baptist Church of Mansfield https://fbcmansfieldct.com/
Mansfield Volunteer Fire Department https://www.mansfieldct.gov/172/Fire-Department
If you would like an alternate place to share your memories or thoughts, you can use this: https://padlet.com/granitestater/FaithEdAustin
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