Rev. Edward B. Blackman, 81, of West Yarmouth, MA passed away peacefully on April 20, 2016. He was surrounded by his wife Sandra R. Blackman and his close friends.

There was a sense of peace and serenity that surrounded Ed. He left people better than they were when they met him. Comfortable to be around, spending time with him was like coming home to be with one of your favorite people. Ed was a very social and friendly man with a great sense of humor. He celebrated life through his enjoyment of animals, photography, reading, cooking, music and travel especially to Mexico. His lifelong driving force was achieving equal justice and struggling against discrimination where ever it surfaced.

He was a graduate of Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Ed was an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. He pastored Eliot Congregational Church of Roxbury and was the Interim Pastor at the West Dennis Community Church from 2011-2013. Ed was always able to give wisdom and advice to friends who were struggling with various life problems, even as he fought against memory loss.

Ed’s memory will be cherished by Sandra, his loving wife of 44 years; his daughter Rachel C. Blackman of Rhode Island; his Godchildren Cienna and Melanece Wesley of Florida; niece Nancy Fossett of Missouri; nephew Bruce Blackman of Arizona; his cousins Caroline Garrett of California, Beth Morrison of Connecticut, Rob Morrison, Thom Reeves of Florida and Nancy Messier of Rhode Island; and a host of friends and associates. He was predeceased by his parents Isabella and Edward; his brother Allen; his son Mark and his cousins Hazel Morrison and Doug Smith.

The funeral service will be held on Saturday, April 30, 2016 at 11:00am at the West Yarmouth Congregational Church, 383 Route 28 West Yarmouth, MA. Interment to be announced.

In lieu of flowers, please consider supporting memorials in Ed’s memory to Angell Animal Medical Center at 350 S. Huntington Ave. Boston, MA 02130 or the Alzheimer’s Family Support Center of Cape Cod at 2095 Main St. Brewster, MA 02631. Ed’s family extends a special thanks to the staff at Harbor Point at Centerville Assisted Living Facility and the Broad Reach Hospice of Centerville for the kind and loving care they provided.

I was one of the thousands (I'm sure thousands) of people who confided in Easy Ed. He came to MHFA where many of us met him at just the right time in our lives. We were a smart and disrespectful bunch and he was the one with real life experience. He took us all in and each of us learned something that we've carried with us, though at our age now we may not remember what it was! Thank you Ed for everything, especially keeping our secrets. Pat Byrnes