Eddy passed away on August 25, 2010 in his adopted home of Las Vegas, Nev., knowing that his son Devin had aided in getting him to the hospital. His death was due to a blood clot in his lungs which was a result of an apparent heart attack a few days prior. He was 50 years young.
Born October 1, 1959, he grew up in Smyrna, Del., and then went on to West Virginia Wesleyan College and West Virginia University, attaining a MA in psychology.
As all who knew and loved him know, he had an amazing way with kids, and while living in Pacific Beach in San Diego for 9 years, he thrived on counseling troubled teens and children in a family crisis center.
He had spent the last 12 years in Las Vegas, working various jobs which allowed him to spend as much quality time as possible raising his son, Devin, and coaching many girls’ flag football teams. He most recently was employed at the UNLV campus bookstore, which permitted him to enjoy chatting with young adults, likely ‘counseling’ them as they spoke.
Coach Ed passionately coached hundreds of girls, most recently aged 9-14, in the Henderson Flag Football League, proudly taking a team of ‘his girls’ all the way to Nationals and Disney World in 2008. He had a tremendous, positive influence on the lives of not only the girls he coached, but also their families, with his compassion, kindness, strength and mentoring. All who were privileged to have known him loved and respected him deeply.
An impromptu prayer vigil in his memory held in lieu of practice was organized as soon as his teams learned of his death, and though words and the pictures sent to the family can’t possibly capture the true spirit of the evening, they serve as testimony to the amount of love that was shared by our common thread, Ed. There were people there from all different aspects of his life. There were his football players and past players and their families, and people from his football league that knew him by reputation only... there were his co-workers, friends, and students from UNLV who knew him from the campus bookstore.
The eternal optimist, he frequently shared inspirational quotes with his many, many friends on his facebook page, his favorite being “the glass is always half full.”
Ed is survived by his parents, Edgar & Ruth Smith of Smyrna, Del., his son, Devin Foschi-Smith of Las Vegas, Nev, his sister, Terri Smith Rhodes of Chicago, and his sister, Megan Smith Mazer of Doylestown, Pa.
