NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Former Kenner Mayor, radio station owner, and founder of the Krewe of Endymion Ed Muniz was laid to rest today.
“Ed just had a vison, and he had a dream,” Dan Kelly, President of Krewe of Endymion said.
83-year old Ed Muniz lived a life that dreams were made of, especially by starting the Krewe of Endymion in 1967 in Gentilly with only 16 floats. Endymion has now grown into a Superkrewe that defines Mardi Gras.
“Each and every year we tried to achieve that vision and dream, now Endymion is at 3,200 members. No matter what we did he always wanted to do something better next year,” Kelly said.
Kelly remembers, “I used to always get calls from him and he’d ask how many tickets did we sell today.”
They rolled out the red carpet at the Pontchartrain Center so his friends in Endymion and beyond could say their goodbye’s.
“We’re sorry he’s gone. I wish this day would’ve never come. He’s going to be missed by a lot of people and you can see that here today,” Kelly said.
His friend Billy Kraus said, “He was larger than life, like a Captain.”
His family says there’s no doubt he’s a Mardi Gras icon, but he also had amazing accomplishments in radio and was the Mayor of Kenner.
“But to me he was just ‘Pa,’ his granddaughter Tori Hanzo-Battle said.
She says she’s going to miss taking road trips to Destin with her “Pa.”
“We’d listen to the Michael Buble version of different songs from his day, Frank Sinatra songs. He’d always tell me to listen to the words. One song in particular that’s called, “That’s Life” it is about picking yourself up, getting back in the race, and never quitting,” she said.
That’s life for Ed Muniz, and like his parade he was a bright light.
“Let him live on, his presence, feel his memory,” his granddaughter said.
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