Obituary of Edwin Harry Flack

. Ed Flack was an extraordinary person. Everyone always says that: he or she was the sweetest, the kindest, the most gentle...but Ed was the real deal. He genuinely loved people, even those he may not have agreed with. He was also passionate about many things: the news and politics...antique phones...classical music, in particular of the choral variety...cats...and his husband, John. He was also passionate about his love of Key West in general and the Tropic Cinema in particular. Ed and John called Key West their home for the past ten years and met so many people who had truly become family. Prior to this, they met and grew to love many in Panama City, Florida, where they also lived for several years. Born and raised in Huntingdon Valley, PA, in Lower Moreland Township, Ed grew up in a church atmosphere, thanks to a mother who was a talented and devoted organist; she, in fact, played at the same church for well over 50 years. It was through this association that his love of choirs and music direction took hold, and when he graduated West Chester University in the early 60's, it was with a degree in Music Direction, and it was a guiding force in his life, both as a music teacher in the Philadelphia school system throughout the late 60's and early 80's, but through all the church choirs he led throughout his life. So passionate was he about being a choir master that during his tenure at Bartram High School in Philadelphia, in the 1970's he led an inter-school choir of over 3000 students for a very special event! It was one of his proudest moments. Ed also had a keen, lifelong obsession with antique phone equipment, and even owned his own private phone installation company in the early 80's. In 1990, needing a sabbatical, Ed packed up his car and found his way to Key West, where he lived and thrived for one magical year, returning only to help his mother when her health deteriorated. But he vowed he would someday return there and he did, in August 2009, this time with his partner, John, and it is there they settled until mid-January 2020, when health required a move to Rome, NY, where they were going to live with a dear friend. While in Key West, he grew famously passionate about the Tropic Cinema, where John was employed as both manager and volunteer director, and was constantly informing others about this wonderful place, and could be found at all times wearing his Tropic t-shirts in effort to 'spread the word'. It was even at the Tropic Cinema that he and John decided to be wed in July 2015, when Florida finally legalized same-sex marriages, and it was one of the most beautiful days of his life. And his life was one of as much love as he could fit into it. And it was indeed filled with love: from his husband and best friend John, from his kitties (his joys) Lucy and Snow, his family-in-law, and his countless friends throughout Pennsylvania and Florida, and Key West. It is this love he inspired for which he would like to be best remembered. He would like to know that he made a difference in others' lives. And he would, most certainly, want you to know that he loved you deeply, that you touched his life, and brought him joy. Edwin Harry Flack May 5, 1943 February 2, 2020