"I loved Ed and loved working with him," said Commissioner Linda Bloom, who served alongside Mr. Rousseau on the Board of Commissioners.  "He was a true 'team player.'  'Big Ed' was also an inspiration outside of politics with the many community-oriented projects he was involved in.  He taught me so much about so many things.  Our community owes him a debt of gratitude."

"Ed was an Icon," added Commissioner Nelson Peters.  "After his family, he always put the interests of the citizens of Fort Wayne and Allen County first and did so much to improve the quality of life in this community.  Personally, he was a mentor to me and will be sorely missed."

Mr. Rousseau's first experience in elected office came in 1964 when he began serving on the Fort Wayne City Council.  He was a member of the council for eight years, two of those years as president, and he was chairman, at one time or another, of every council committee.

In 1972, Mr. Rousseau was elected to his first term on the Allen County Council.  He served there for 14 years, 11 of those as council president. In 1988, Mr. Rousseau began the first of four four-year terms on the Board of Commissioners representing the 1st district.

At the end of 2004, 40 years after first being elected to public office, Mr. Rousseau chose not to seek re-election to the Board of Commissioners.

In the private sector, Mr. Rousseau was a partner in ReMax Results Realtors and held a Senior Residential Appraiser designation.  He was also the original manager of Glenbrook Square mall.

Mr. Rousseau served on many boards including: Invent Tomorrow, Fort Wayne-Allen County Economic Development Alliance, the Local Government Efficiency Study Committee, Salvation Army, Blaising Social Services, Metropolitan Human Relations, City Plan Commission, Memorial Coliseum, Parkview Hospital, United Way Cabinet and the United States Justice Department Community Policing Advisory Board. 

In 2004, Mr. Rousseau was named to the State of Indiana's Enterprise Zone Study Commission.  The commission was created by the Indiana General Assembly to find ways to attract business to downtowns and disadvantaged areas, as well as ways to overcome complex property and inventory tax issues.

Mr. Rousseau was the recipient of many awards and honors, including the state of Indiana's highest honor, the "Sagamore of the Wabash," in 2004.

Mr. Rousseau served in the United States Army in 1954 and 1955 in Germany.  He was with the 2nd Armored Division, 142nd Armored Signal Company.  As an elected official, Mr. Rousseau vigorously supported veterans' needs throughout the community.

A Fort Wayne native, he grew up in the Bloomingdale neighborhood and continued to live in Fort Wayne with his wife Marilyn.