Mildred "Mickey" Edwards

Mildred “Mickey” Edwards, 77, beloved mother, grandmother, sister, and friend, passed away on
August 2, 2025 after a long illness. She was born on March 30, 1948 to Matthew Matesich and
Margaret Gonda in Newark, OH. After graduating from Rosary College, she received her J.D.
from Georgetown University Law Center. She clerked for Judge Spottswood Robinson III, who
inspired in her a deep commitment to civil rights and justice for the marginalized. She went on to
work for the D.C. Public Defender Service, the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department,
and as the Chief Staff Counsel for the U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit.

In 1988, she was appointed to the D.C. Superior Court, where she presided over cases with
meticulous care and compassion for fifteen years. Her judicial career was bookended by two
cases which demonstrate her concern for the humanity of the people who appeared in her
courtroom. The first was in 1989 and was referred to in the Washington Post as the “Trial of the
D.C. Seven”: the seven defendants had staged a street demonstration on behalf of the homeless
on the grounds of the Capitol without a permit. A jury found the defendants not guilty, as they
had not, in fact, been blocking traffic. As the Post noted, however, the remarkable part of the trial
was Judge Edwards’s willingness to allow the defendants to fully explain on the record the plight
of the homeless that had inspired them to engage in protest. The Post quotes her concluding
“sentiments of graciousness” directly: “I would like to extend my thanks to all of you for your
conscientious, dignified and decorous behavior. I am often enriched by the people who come in
my courtroom…and by none more than the seven of you.” Fifteen years later, in 2003, three gay
Catholics were brought to trial for illegally protesting on the grounds of the Washington Hyatt
Regency hotel after they were denied Communion. The facts of the case were clear, and Judge
Edwards found the three guilty. She refused to impose a sentence, however, noting the
discriminatory violence the three had endured. In the intervening years, she treated everyone
who entered her courtroom with fairness and dignity, holding on to the belief that the justice
system could make the world a better place.

At the conclusion of her judicial term, she was called to pursue a Master of Divinity degree from
the Washington Theological Union, and, the only layperson in her class, the only woman in her
class, she graduated as the valedictorian in 2007. She served as the Director of Religious
Education for Adults at St. Mark Parish in Vienna, VA until 2012. Inspired by Catholic social
teachings and Pope Francis’s Laudato Si’, she continued to facilitate faith formation groups at St.
John Neumann Parish in Reston, VA, and to give public lectures until her death.

Mickey loved nature: the stark quiet of canyons in the Southwest, the peaceful green of the forest
outside her door; the foxes, the owls, the persistent sound of a flicker in a tree. She was a precise
and talented writer, both of judicial decisions and of poetry. She was always crocheting
something, from beautiful baby blankets to shawls for those nearing the end of life. She loved
her granddaughter beyond all measure, and deeply enjoyed teaching her watercolor technique
and painting with her. She saw God’s beauty in the world.

She is predeceased by her parents and her sister, Sr. Mary Andrew Matesich, O.P. She is survived
by her daughter, Jessica Seidman, her son, Andrew Seidman, her granddaughter, Lyra Seidman,
and her sisters, Margaret Gruenke and Martha Matesich. Funeral services will be held at St. John
Neumann Church in Reston, VA on Monday, August 11 at 11:00 am. In lieu of flowers, please
make donations to Catholic Charities (https://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org).