Grant F. Anderson Citation for Meritorious Ministry
2017 Honoree of the Queens Federation of Churches

Edward W. Middendorf, Sr.

Edward William Middendorf, Sr., was born in Brooklyn, raised in Ozone Park, and baptized in Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church where he was a life long member. He served as a member of the church council and was president five years. Ed was a member of the Board of Directors of the Queens Federation of Churches and was president in 2011-12

A graduate of John Adams High School, he was a member of Pilgrim Chapter Order of De Molay where he was awarded the Legion of Honor in 1983. At 21, Ed joined Prosperity Masonic Lodge and was raised a Master Mason in March 1959. He was elected Master of the lodge in 1966,1990 and 2003, and has been active in Masonry ever since. He was honored by being appointed Grand Representative of the Grand Lodge of Victoria Australia in 1985. Ed has been a member of the Queens Masonic Association since 1966 and its secretary from 1990 to 2014. Ed served as the chairman of the QMA building committee until 2014.

Ed joined the Valley of Rockville Centre, Scottish Rite Masons (32nd degree) and was elected Most Wise Master of the L.I. Chapter of Rose Croix (2011-13); he has been on the finance committee delivering on time budgets. He is presently 1st Lieutenant in the Consistory of the Valley of Rockville Centre. Ed is a member of Kismet Shrine Temple and is part of the Hospital Transportation group (Roadrunners) volunteering to transport children and their family to the Boston and Philadelphia Shriners Hospital for children. Ed volunteers on the Queens Masonic Safety I.D. Team preparing photo IDs for Children and adults. He was recently honored by the Scottish Rite Masons of NY State with the award for Meritorious Service.

Ed joined the 187th AAA National Guard in June 1959,went to Ft. Dix for Basic Training and Ft. Bliss El Paso, for advanced training. Ed did not enjoy marching and eating meals with sand in it and so in 1961 he transferred to the U. S. Coast Guard and retired in1983 as Chief Boatswains Mate.

Ed was married in 1968 and widowed in 2002. Ed has 3 children – Bill, Victoria and Ed Jr., who together they have five grand children. Ed was employed by New York Telephone Company in 1957, as Splicers Helper, and grew through the ranks to Sales Representative and Manager. When the Bell System split, Ed went with AT&T as an office operations manager, retiring at the end of 1989. Ed was hired by MCI as a Fiber Optic Cable Engineer. Within one year he was promoted to Senior Supervising Engineer for the NYC Metro area with a 2 million dollar budget.

Ed left MCI and started a cable engineering company and was hired by a new telecom company. He left the business world in 2001 to be with his ailing wife. Ed now enjoys retirement, travel, fishing and active masonic membership.
At Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, he was active in church life, as a Sunday School Teacher and on the finance committee. Ed was a host for a Senior Citizen Luncheon which met weekly on Fridays from September through July, since 2003, ending in 2015. The hosting included making soup and salads. The Queens Federation honored Ed with a Citation For Faithful Servant in 2004. He has been on its board of Directors since 2005. Ed was on the church council from 1990 until the congregational merger in2015. Ed had served as lector, communion assistant and usher. He prepared dinners for Lent for approximately 20 people as well as congregational brunches and dinners for 120 people.