Edward Louis Komski

Edward Louis Komski was born Jan. 12, 1958 at St. Barnabas Hospital in Newark, New Jersey to Louis Komski and Helen Kotula Komski. He was raised in the Polish National Catholic Church and served as an altar boy until the age of 18 and grew up in Cliffwood Beach, N.J.

He attended Cedar Ridge High School in Old Bridge, N.J., where he became heavily involved with soccer, track, marching band, concert choir, theater and madrigal choir. Ed toured Romania during his high school years with the choir earning several acclaimed international awards.

Ed was so musically talented. He learned the accordion at age 5 and as time went by he picked up and could play almost any instrument. Many Bar mitzvahs and Polish Polkas were his side jobs throughout his younger years.

His love for music and music analyzation led Ed to attend and graduate from Shenandoah University (previously known as Shenandoah College and Conservatory of Music), Winchester, Virginia in 1980. He earned a BS in music management, an AA in business administration and established many life-long friendships.

Upon graduation, Ed moved to the Washington DC/Maryland area in 1981 and entered the banking industry where he attained a senior vice president position. By the late 1980’s, he had relocated to the West Coast where his quest for sunshine, the beach and Southern California lifestyle was realized.

Ed met Cynthia Lynn (Plies) in 1990 in the mortgage industry and they wed November 2, 1991. In 2000, they moved from Orange County, Calif. to a farm in Fallbrook to enjoy and relish the rural lifestyle that they loved. Together they raised horses, dogs, miniature donkeys, exotic birds and a slew of other farm critters. They had just celebrated their 27 year anniversary.

Aside from the mortgage industry, Ed was an accomplished business professional who enjoyed management of complex projects and operations. He also loved working with all kinds of people in different walks of life. He worked for The Plies Companies and built a state-of-the-art carwash in Mission Viejo, Calif. which earned him The Gold Nugget Award for Design and Best Commercial Project in 1997.

He later renovated a fueling station in Barstow, Calif. by the name of Xtreme Convenience which catered to the Extreme Sport enthusiast, featuring Xtreme racing fuel, and brand names such as Troy Lee, Oakley and Monster, which named him Retailer of the Year in 2009.

Most recently Ed worked as a national business development manager for Supreme Lending out of Dallas, Texas. He was so excited and honored to work with so many committed, talented people again in the industry.

Ed periodically played with other Californian musicians including songwriters Jeff Silbar, Rick Founds and numerous other wonderful musicians in various churches, Camp Pendleton Christmas gatherings, local parties and a few recordings where an accordion player was needed. He treasured his music and friends who communicated through music with him.

Ed joined Rainbow Valley Grange in September 2003 and jumped right in to its activities. Over the last 15 years, he served as the Grange’s Youth Fair Director, founder and director of the Show Season Opener, Master (President), lead pizza maker and chief renovator of the hall’s interior.

At the state level, Ed served as Youth Fair Director, Property Manager, and State Master/President from 2013 until his death.

Ed was passionate about preserving the rights of the non-profit organization which is the California State Grange. He recently led the legal fight for five years to restore properties, assets, and trademark infringements of the California State Grange that had illegally changed hands.

He worked hard tirelessly to restore the ethics, values, history and original intent, set over a 150 years ago by the founders of the Grange (which was established after the Civil War under President Andrew Johnson as the first cooperative to move food and products from one area to another and to protect the farmers from the railroad industry).

As a result of his passion and ability to work with diverse groups of people in all walks of life, he was the perfect point person to work with California and Washington DC attorneys, intellects, business people and farmers to move the organization forward.

He enjoyed and loved to mentor the next generation of Grangers on the state and national level, working on legislative issues and using his knowledge and ideas in technology to update and modernize the organization. He had just been re-elected unanimously for a third term as Master/President/CEO of the California State Grange and Chairman of the 2018 National Grange Law Committee.

Ed was a totally amazing dad to daughter Aspen Lee Komski, nephew Tate R. Nelson and Aspen’s countless friends. He was Cynthia’s love and best friend for 28 years. He will forever be known for his endless smile, spontaneous “Road Trips”, constant positive motivation, selfless work for others, his love and passion for his family, friends, music, laughter, inappropriate jokes, love for big tools, fast cars, travel, fishing, figuring out puzzles, reading technical manuals, constantly learning new things, and of course a good bottle of wine.

Ed died Nov. 12, 2018 from heart attack complications in Burlington, Vermont while at a National Grange Convention. He was preceded in death by his brother Louis (age 6 weeks), father Louis Komski, niece Haley Anne Nelson and mother-in-law Anita Irene Plies.

He will be forever missed and loved by his wife Cynthia Lynn and daughter Aspen Lee (age 23). He also leaves behind mother Helen R. Komski, brother Stanley J. Komski, sister-in-law Victoria (Troiano) Komski as well as father-in-law Daniel L. Plies, brother-in-law Robert Edward Nelson, sister-in-law Debra Ann Nelson, nephew Tate Robert Nelson, niece Karleigh Ann Komski and nephew Zackery James Komski.

The family invites those who loved Ed to pay tribute to him and join us on January 12, 2019 to celebrate and share memories of him on what would have been his 61st birthday. Details will be shared on social media once details are finalized.