Edward Shea

EDWARD J. SHEA

Palos Verdes, Calif.

Edward Joseph Shea, 59, passed away Jan. 28, 2017, at his brother's home in Palos Verdes, Calif. Ed was catastrophically injured while riding his bicycle down the California coast on March 22, 2015, suffering injuries that left him a ventilator dependent quadriplegic.

He was born June 22, 1957, in Cedar Rapids, the son of Alice and the late John J. Shea.

Ed is survived by his mother, and four brothers, Kevin (Cathy) Shea, Gary (Sharon) Shea and Rob Shea (Kristine Vogt), all of Cedar Rapids, and John (Lara) Shea of California; two nieces; and four nephews.

He was preceded in death by his father and his grandparents, Edward and Alma Wagner and Timothy and Catherine Shea.

Ed was a graduate of Regis High School (1975), the University of Arizona (BS, 1980) and the Thunderbird School of Global Management (MBA, 1990).

He lived an amazing life, spending over 30 years living and working abroad, with most of those years involved in providing humanitarian relief. Ed worked for the Peace Corps as well as various non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including the Red Cross, CARE, and Catholic Relief Services in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. He spent more than a decade in Africa and worked in a number of conflict areas, such as Angola, Burundi, Somalia, Liberia and Sudan. He was the Eastern Africa regional director for the International Red Cross based out of Nairobi, Kenya. He also served as a country director for the American Red Cross in Southeast Asia, based in Hanoi, Vietnam and Phnom Penh, Cambodia, directing Red Cross relief programs in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Ed also lived and worked in Ecuador, Japan, Spain, France, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Yemen and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he worked as an interpreter during the 1994 Cuban refugee crisis. In the last decade, Ed led teams that provided emergency disaster relief all around the world, including for the tsunami in Fukushima, Japan, and the typhoon in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He was involved in supporting Syrian war refugees from Antakya, Turkey and, most recently, providing earthquake and war relief in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Ed was an avid reader, spoke multiple languages, loved to travel and enjoyed the outdoors. He visited more than 100 countries, ran in the New York City and Paris marathons, hiked all of the Camino de Santiago trail in northern Spain, and received several certificates for climbing mountains in Africa and the Himalayas. Ed took multiple lengthy bicycle trips, traveling across Europe, Japan, Cuba, and throughout the United States – typically camping and riding for months at a time.

He viewed life and our interactions with one another from a global perspective, with an impressive depth of knowledge, understanding and respect for other people and cultures. He lived life boldly, always working tirelessly for others. Even after his injury, Ed continued to help others by working with former colleagues to assist in the preparation of grant requests for aid and disaster relief around the world.

Ed's absence leaves a gigantic void in our lives and he will be greatly missed by his family and friends.

The family wishes to express our deepest gratitude to Ed's many friends for all the love and support they provided to Ed throughout his life, and especially since his injury. Ed repeatedly commented how grateful he was for everyone's friendship.

Ed requested any memorial donations be made to the Women's Microfinance Initiative (www.aidforafrica.org/member-charities/womens-microfinance-initiative).

There will be a memorial service in Cedar Rapids at a date to be announced later.