Valley Stream Mayor Edward Cahill dies at 82

So unassuming and modest was Edward Cahill that he was almost embarrassed when people introduced him as Valley Stream mayor.

"He'd tell them, 'I'm Ed, just Ed,' " Jim Darcy, his longtime friend, said Tuesday.

Cahill, a retired New York City police sergeant and the village's mayor since 1999, died Saturday at his Valley Stream home after a long illness. He was 82.

Darcy, who knew Cahill for more than 20 years, remembered his friend as "the kindest, most decent man I've ever met."

Cahill had two loves - MaryAnn, his wife of 49 years, and the village - said Darcy, a Town of Hempstead council member whose district includes most of Valley Stream.

"You never saw one without the other," Darcy, himself a former Valley Stream mayor, said of Cahill and his wife. "They were about the closest two people you could ever imagine."

Cahill lived in Valley Stream for five decades and shunned retirement to serve, Darcy said.

"He gave up the fruits of his retirement because he wanted to make the village a better place to live, a better place for families," Darcy said.

Around the village, Cahill also was known for breaking the so-called Henry Waldinger curse in 2003. Until Cahill won re-election that year, Waldinger was the only mayor in village history to win re-election, the last time in the mid-1950s.

Cahill ran for village trustee in 1992 but was defeated by less than 30 votes. He then ran on the United Community Party ticket with Darcy in 1995 and was elected trustee. Darcy appointed him deputy mayor the same year.

When Darcy left the village for the State Assembly in 1999, Cahill served out Darcy's term as mayor.

Cahill also was a longtime member of the Knights of Columbus, an honorary chief of the Valley Stream Fire Department and was head usher for many years at Holy Name of Mary Church, Darcy said.

In addition to his wife, Cahill is survived by a sister, Catherine Smith of Chicago, and several nieces and nephews.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. at Holy Name of Mary Church with burial at Cemetery of the Holy Rood in Westbury.