Edward J. Barlow, Jr. of East Hartford passed away quietly on November 24, 2025. He was born in Hartford, Connecticut on August 3, 1937.
He was the son of the late Edward J. Barlow, Sr. and Artiste Oates Barlow and was predeceased by his wife Patricia Barlow.
He is survived by his beloved children Edward Cinqué Barlow (wife Tracey) and daughter Marghru Elaine Barlow; and step-daughter Angela Gaidry (husband Brian) and step-son Todd Strother (wife Jackie) as well as his god-daughter Leslie Spivey Bell and his partner Kathleen Graham. He had six grandchildren: Calé and Jiré Barlow, Olivia Gaidry, Brett and Morgan Smith and Tavian Strother.
Edward was a 1956 graduate of Weaver High School in Hartford where he was the first African American to captain Weaver’s football team and was on the executive board of both the student council and the boy’s club.
He served honorably in the US Army Reserves for over seven years and graduated with honors with a degree in Business Administration from Virginia State University where he also became a member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity.
He began his career at the Traveler’s Insurance Company in 1962 and in 1968 he became president of the Connecticut Savings and Loan Association, Connecticut’s first minority owned financial institution.
Following his career at the Savings and Loan Association, he began a 26 year career at CIGNA working in a variety of positions and ending his career as Assistant Vice President of Corporate Services in the Real Estate Division.
Edward was elected president of the board of the American Savings and Loan League, the national trade association for all U.S. minority owned savings and loan associations. He served on the board of the Hartford National Bank’s Minority Enterprise Small Business Investment Corporation (MESBIC), approving commercial loans to minority owned and operated businesses. Edward was a former board member of the Connecticut Future Fund, a venture capital company. As a board member, he oversaw and approved the State of Connecticut’s investments in high technology businesses.
He was former treasurer and founder of Amistad House, a group home for adolescent women and an infant day care center. He also served on the board of the Greater Hartford Urban League, was the first board president of the Artist Collective, and also a former trustee of the Wadsworth Atheneum.
Edward was recently honored by ICUTE — The Institute For Cross Cultural Awareness And Transformative Education — for contributions to the tremendous legacy of the African American/Black Experience in Connecticut.
He was presented with the Humanitarian award for outstanding community service by the West Indian Society of Hartford and the Charter Oak Leadership Medal by the Greater Hartford Chamber of Commerce. He was cited by the Connecticut General Assembly in recognition of his outstanding civic contributions.
Edward loved his church and served for several years on the Asylum Hill Congregational Church Board of Deacons and as president of the board of the Loaves and Fishes Ministries community outreach program.
Edward loved his children and grandchildren dearly and was a great friend and mentor to many people. He was a life- long athlete, an avid UCONN Husky Women’s basketball fan, and took up golf in his mid 70’s.