Edmond Sidney Moreland, Jr.

Instead of my regular blog post, I want to post E’s obituary. It was an honor to honor his life by trying to capture who he has been in his short time on this planet. I am certain this doesn’t nearly cover it all. I miss you every single second of every day, My Love.

Edmond Sidney Moreland, Jr., 50 of Wimberley, Texas died on April 4, 2023. 

Edmond was born in Winter Park, Florida on April 20, 1972 to Edmond Sidney Moreland, Sr. and Cheryl Ann Lawson Moreland. Edmond had one sibling, a younger sister, Kasey Laine Moreland. His parents grew up in Louisiana. Edmond moved throughout his childhood living in various parts of the country during his father’s military service in the Air Force and as an airline pilot. The family eventually settled in Friendswood, Texas in 1985, where Edmond finished his junior high and high school years. He met and began dating Susan Wilder during high school. The two eventually married after Edmond graduated from law school and took his first job as an attorney in Dallas, Texas. 

After his first marriage ended, Edmond reconnected with a high school friend, Jennifer Miller Sabatier. They went on their first date in the summer touring through the Hill Country. The two eventually moved to Wimberley in 2006 and married on October 9, 2009 at Fischer Hall in Fischer, Tx. Together, at their home in Wimberley, they raised five children: Jade, Brigid (Caitlin), and Summer Myles, and William and Elaine (Ellie) Moreland. They had a beloved dog, Zeke, who ran with Edmond nearly every day. Eventually, dogs Ruby, Bayou, and Buck were part of this dog-loving man’s family. 

Edmond was a shareholder in the law firm, Moreland Verrett, P.C. He attended Texas A & M University in College Station, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, in 1994. Edmond then graduated from The University of Texas School of Law in 1997, and was admitted to practice law before courts in the State of Texas on November 7, 1997. He was admitted to practice before the United States District Courts for the Western, Northern, Southern and Eastern Districts of Texas, the District of New Mexico, the District of North Dakota, and the Eastern District of Michigan. He was also admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court and the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Sixth Circuits. 

After graduating from law school, Edmond joined a prominent Dallas labor and employment law firm. There, he learned how to prepare and try cases from intake to verdict, and how to handle them through subsequent appeals. In August of 2000, he began his own law practice and he continued to hone his trial and litigation skills. 

Throughout his career, Edmond represented people before administrative tribunals and state and federal courts, both trial and appellate. While he has worked on a variety of different matters from personal injury to consumer protection cases, Edmond maintained a special emphasis on labor and employment law. Since 2002, he has been Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Edmond was recognized by his peers as a Texas “Super Lawyer” (a Thomson Reuters service) from 2014 to 2021 and a Texas “Rising Star” Super Lawyer (a Thomson Reuters service) in Employment Litigation or Labor and Employment Law numerous times in 2004, 2005, 2008 – 2012. In addition, Edmond was named in the Edition of Best Lawyers in America (a Woodward White, Inc. service) in the area of Employment Law—Individuals for 2017-2022. 

He lived with his family in Wimberley, Texas. Edmond enjoyed spending time with his wife and five children. Edmond was active in his community supporting various organizations. He served as Chancellor of the St. Stephen’s Episcopal School (Wimberley) Board. He served on the Wimberley Emergency Medical Systems Board of Directors for over eight years. He also regularly provided pro bono legal services, and was a generous, community-minded, good human who made this world a better place. 

Edmond was also an avid runner, a cyclist, a commercial pilot, and certificated flight instructor. He often looked toward the sky and could identify the make and model of the airplane overhead. He was a voracious reader, with an expansive vocabulary, and loved being part of his men’s book club; and loved and cherished the friends in it with all his heart. 

Edmond shared many interests and exchanges with friends and family, including: a love of cooking (especially, his famous jambalaya, perfect steaks, mouth-watering ribs, and spectacular lasagna), following intricate recipes exactly, running, walking, hiking, history, baseball, hunting, political discussions, music, being a keen and humorous observer of human nature, story-telling, reading out-loud to his children or his wife—who all love to be read to, experiences in the natural world, camping, hiking, taking trips to beautiful places, and fixer of cars old and new. He loved a good beer, fine wine, reposado, and bourbon. Vacation Edmond who advocated for gelato three times a day balanced the more disciplined, exact, and routined part of him. He was such a foundation for us all, the steady, the shower-upper. 

He was a life-long learner and scholar. If he did not know how to do something, he researched it until he understood all the angles before he took on the task. He was the most thoughtful human, particularly with big commitments and decisions, always weighing potential actions, never wanting to cause harm to others. This was true of him as a hunter as well. He was a hunter who respected the land and the animals. His hunting trips with our children and his friends were some of his fondest times with some of his favorite people. He could field dress a deer or hog and teach you to do it. He was a teacher of so many things. 

He was a drummer who did not get the chance to bang on his drums nearly long enough. He loved reading historical fiction, biographies, fiction, and poetry. Edmond introduced many of us to the most beautiful literature. He could remember important historical dates and places like no one else, and then tell you why it mattered now. He had a wicked, brilliant sense of humor.

Edmond was the fixer of all things broken or rehabilitatable. He built decks and fire pits. He could string curse words together poetically when what he was attempting to fix would not cooperate. He loved tending the land, taking care of and loving his children, and supporting and loving his wife. He loved deeply and generously. 

Edmond was preceded in death by his grandparents, William Benjamin Moreland, Elva Claire Moreland, Elvin Douglas Lawson, Sr., Elaine Murray Lawson; his father and friend, Edmond Sidney Moreland, Sr. (Papa, Captain Ed); and his dogs, Akbar (Willie) and Zeke (Zekie-Peach, Dr. Van Pelt, Sneed). 

Edmond is survived by his wife/partner, Jennifer Miller Sabatier, and their children, Elaine (Ellie) Sidney Sabatier Moreland, William Fletcher Moreland, Summer Elizabeth Myles, Brigid (Caitlin Anne) Myles and her partner, Ryan Garner, and Jade Thomas Myles. 

He is also survived by his mother, Cheryl Ann Moreland and her partner, Bob Duda; his sister Kasey Moreland Alley and Dalton Alley, Jr. and their children Sidney, Benjamin, Stella and Max Alley; his in-laws Eugene Paul Sabatier Jr., and Charlotte Ann Miller Sabatier, Claire Sabatier and Tom Scoulios and their son, Ollie Womack; and Charlotte (Lottie) Sabatier Elwood and Scott Elwood and their children, Charles, Parker, and Margaret (Maggie) Elwood. 

Edmond Sidney Moreland, Jr., was a husband, best friend, partner in parenting, father, son, brother, and friend to many. He was the ultimate supporter and protector. We miss you every minute, every second, and this world is better because you were in it and forever changed in your absence. We will honor you in the ways we live with deep regard for the truth, history, advocacy, and justice. 

We will celebrate the life of Edmond Sidney Moreland, Jr. at Fischer Hall in Fischer Texas on April 22, 2023. 

Edmond stood for truth, education, environment, care, and community. We ask instead of flowers, if you would like to make a donation in his memory, to please consider one of these organizations that Edmond held dear, served our family, and/or where he volunteered his time and talent: 

Friends of Blue Hole Regional Park: We walked the trails and spent time in the park regularly, and he ran the trails often with friends or our dogs. http://friendsofbluehole.org/ 

John Knox Ranch: Our son, William, goes to camp every summer at JKR; it is also the hosting organization for bereavement camps for children who are grieving losses; and it serves youth, children, and families year-round with opportunities to be together in nature. https://johnknoxranch.org/donate 

Rocky River Ranch: Our daughter, Ellie, goes to camp at RRR each summer, and it is where she eventually wants to become a camp counselor. This was one of her first places of belonging. Mail to: Rocky River Ranch PO Box 109 Wimberley, TX 78676 

Blanco River Academy: Two of our children currently attend BRAc. It is an environmental stewardship school and a place of scholarship and project-based learning. https://www.blancoriveracademy.org/giving 

St. Stephen’s Episcopal School Wimberley: Two of our children attended St. Stephens beginning in pre-school through early elementary, and Edmond served as Chancellor to the School Board. https://www.ststephenswimberley.org/donate 

Equal Justice Center: Edmond’s career as a labor employment attorney and work to protect and advocate for worker’s rights is reflected in the mission of EJC. He also worked closely with EJC attorneys over the years. https://www.equaljusticecenter.org/take-action/donate.html 

Wimberley EMS: Edmond served as a board member for over eight years. https://wimberleyems.com/building-fund-donation-page/ 

Edmond, you were versed, fluent in the anam-cara. You opened your heart to so many, and invited us in. May there be no distance between us, even now. 

“Love is the nature of the soul. The soul needs love as urgently as it needs air. In the warmth of love, the soul can be itself. You are here to realize and honor these possibilities. When love comes in to your life, unrecognized dimensions of your destiny awaken and blossom and grow. Possibility is the secret heart of time. On its outer surface time is vulnerable to transience. … Time minds possibility and makes sure that nothing is lost or forgotten. That which seems to pass away on the surface of time is in fact transfigured and housed in the tabernacle of memory. Possibility is the secret heart of creativity. …When we love and allow ourselves to be loved, we begin more and more to inhabit the kingdom of the eternal. Fear changes into courage, emptiness becomes plentitude, and distance becomes intimacy. …The anam-cara experience opens a friendship that is not wounded or limited by separation or distance. Such friendship can remain alive even when friends live far away from each other. Because they have broken through the barriers of persona and egoism to the soul level, the unity of their souls is not easily severed. When the soul is awakened, physical space has transfigured. Even across the distance, two friends can stay attuned to each other and continue to sense the flow of each other’s lives. With your anam-cara you awaken the eternal. In this soul-space, there is no distance.”

—John O’Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom, p 9-10.