Edwin Frederick Kagin, 73, died unexpectedly at his home in Union, Ky., on March 28, 2014. Edwin was born in Greenville, SC, on November 26, 1940, and was reared in Kentucky and Missouri. He served in the U.S. Air Force, graduated from University of Louisville School of Law in 1972 and practiced law in Louisville, Maysville, and Union, Ky. He focused particularly on Constitutional and civil liberty issues and was a member of the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1975 until his death.
A founder of the Free Inquiry Group of Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, Edwin later became the National Legal Director for American Atheists, Inc. A satirical and witty essayist, poet, debater and advocate for human rights and dignity, he was frequently in the forefront of controversial issues regarding the separation of church and state. He and his wife Dr. Helen Good were co-founders of Camp Quest, the first residential secular summer camp for children. Author of “Baubles of Blasphemy” and contributor to “Fundamentals of Extremism,” he often said, “Don’t take life too seriously; you won’t get out of it alive anyway.”
He was preceded in death by his parents, Rev. Edwin F. Kagin and Mary Robert Stewart Kagin, and wife Helen Smith. He is survived by children of his first wife Sandra Graves, Stephen Scott Kagin (Christa), Eric Daniel Kagin (Jill Zinner), Heather Kagin Kennedy (Bryan), and Kathryn Rae Cohan (George M. “Hap”); grandchildren, Ethan, Maren, and Abby Kagin and Quinn and Kennedy Cohan; step-daughter Caroline Good; sisters, Roberta Stewart Kagin, and Mary Kagin Kramer (Carl); and nieces Gretchen Alaniz (Brad) and children (Zachary, Heath, Tara and Hilde) and Julia Mensing.
A celebration of Edwin’s life will occur at a later date.
Memorials: please help send a child to Cam Quest.
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