Obituary of Edmund "Ed" Norman Biden

BScE, DPhil

It is with deep sadness that we announce that Ed died peacefully surrounded by family on 30 May 2026 at the Saint John Regional Hospital.

Ed was predeceased by his parents C. William and Margaret Biden (née Hildebrand) as well as his Godmother, Phyllis “PD” Reynolds. He is survived by his beloved wife of 45 years, Bernadette (née Dawson); his children Emily Biden of Moncton, Jeremy Biden (Aurore Billou) of Scarborough, ON and Catherine Nelson (Daniel Nelson) of Sarnia, ON; his sister, Mary Bourgeois (Paul Bourgeois) of Riverview, NB; his brothers-in-law Theodore E. “Ted” Dawson (Patricia Moody) of Rhode Island, and Mark Dawson (Laura Taylor) of Ontario. His nieces Kaleigh, Ashlyn and Jessica; his nephew Luke; and his cherished grandchildren, Liga, Louis, Elio, and Oliver.

After graduating from Fredericton High School in 1974, Ed completed his BSE ME Eng in Mechanical Engineering at UNB in 1978 with internships at General Motors in Oshawa and Inco in Sudbury that he reflected on throughout his career. Ed was named a Rhodes Scholar in 1978.  He completed his D.Phil at Hertford College, Oxford University under supervisor Dr. John O’Connor. He maintained many lifelong connections from his time in Oxford and with the Rhodes Trust.

Ed and Bernadette then moved to San Diego where he spent the first 5 years of his career managing the gait analysis lab at Children’s Hospital San Diego. He returned to UNB where he spent the remainder of his career.

During his tenure at UNB he served as Director of the Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Department chair of Mechanical Engineering, and Dean of Graduate Studies. He spoke with pride of his time working with the Canadian International Development Agency on engineering projects in Cuba. At the time of his retirement in 2020, both he and Bernadette were honoured with a scholarship in their names. Ed was named Professor Emeritus in 2022. Although his children often teased him that he was best-known on campus for his tremendous beard.

Ed loved his work and his dedication to higher education saw him supervise many graduate students and sit on the board of directors of the O’Brien Foundation. He was awarded the UNB President’s Medal for Teaching in 2016.

Ed was a dedicated member of Scouts Canada for over 60 years earning several awards and recognitions; serving as a leader for over 50 years and finishing his Scouting career as a group committee member. He was best known by his Scouting names “Hawkeye” and “Bagheera” to countless Scouts over the years. He enjoyed camping, hiking and opening his workshop to the cub pack to build “Kub Kars” for the annual races.

Ed embodied Scouting's call to service and was a generous member of various committees at St. Margaret’s Anglican Parish and Christ Church Cathedral. He supported many initiatives to maintain the churches, bringing an engineering perspective to the Vestry and even occasionally climbing the steeple to wind the clock.

Ed had many other hobbies including woodworking, berry-picking, collecting slide rules, baking biscuits and shortbread, and writing weekly letters and stories to his children and grandchildren complete with illustrations and in December “DIY Christmas trees”(pine needles and a twig in an envelope).

Ed’s family would like to thank the neurosurgery nursing staff at the Saint John Regional Hospital for their exceptional care.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Ed’s memory to Parkinson’s Canada, Scouts Canada, The University of New Brunswick, The War Amps, or a charity of one’s choice would be appreciated.

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to McAdam’s Funeral Home with a memorial service and reception to be held on 18 June 2026 at Christ Church Cathedral beginning at 11:00 am. Scouters are encouraged to attend in full dress uniform.