Edward James Tarrant's Obituary
Edward James Tarrant, 60, of Centreville, Virginia passed away on Wednesday, September 24th.
Born on Wednesday December 9, 1964, in Queens, New York, to the late Michael and Bridget Tarrant, Edward was the older brother of Michael, with just two years between them. Ed grew up in Bayside, New York, attended Holy Cross High School, and then St. Johns University. After graduating, Ed worked as a bellman at the Hampshire House off of Central Park in Manhattan, NY. He proudly shared stories of the many public figures he got to meet during their stay, sparking his interest in celebrity personalities. He started his professional journey at New York Life Insurance Company in the meetings department and began his long, successful career in the industry. As part of his job with NYLIC Ed often found himself traveling for company conferences. In 1996 during a trip to the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Ed was introduced to Stephanie, the daughter of his colleague David Lyons. What began as a chance meeting quickly sparked a shared affection, marking the start of their romance. Stephanie had recently moved to Virginia to open her dance studio, and so began a long-distance relationship. Ed made a habit of traveling to Virginia as often as he could to see Stephanie. By November of 1999, the boy from Bayside made his move south to be with his love in Virginia where they married and began building their life together.
After settling in Virginia, Ed worked for American Road Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) in the role of Meeting Planner responsible for coordinating and facilitating conventions for members. Over his 25 years at the company, Ed cultivated lasting relationships with members and approached his work with unwavering dedication. Ed was a dedicated and loving father to James and Daniel. Ed’s love for New York sports was passed down to his sons, who have taken up the torch—and struggle—that comes with it. There was nothing that Ed loved more than sitting down and watching the Yankees and Giants with his boys. He looked forward to venturing back to New York and bringing James and Daniel into the city and out to the Bronx for Yankees games. Ed had a great admiration for Eddie Murphy and was a big fan of Saturday Night Live, often recalling with laughter some of the show's classic sketches. Over the years Ed enjoyed many concerts including his favorite band U2, The Rolling Stones, and Billy Joel. A perfect weekend started with reading the newspaper in the morning and ended with live music ,preferably from the 80’s, with Stephanie in the evening. As a family, they enjoyed many ‘Tarrant Vacations’ across the country, most recently a beautiful trip to Ireland. Ed looked forward to these trips and cherished the moments when his family was together.
We all imagined sharing many more wonderful years with Ed, and he will be dearly missed by Stephanie, James, Daniel, his brother Michael, his sister-in-law Janet and their children Elise and Andrew, and his extended Lyons family and friends.
Memorial Visitation will be held on Friday, October 3, 2025, from 3:00 pm – 7:00 pm at Loudoun Funeral Chapel, 158 Catoctin Cir. SE, Leesburg, VA 20175.
In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made in Ed’s honor to the American Heart Association.
Online condolences may be made to the family at http://www.loudounfuneralchapel.com
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