Edward Carol Muns ’61

Brother Muns was born in Miami, Arizona on December 5, 1937. He enrolled at the U of A in the fall of 1956 and pledged Fiji in September. During his four years in the house, Ed served as pledge class president, head of the Senior Council, and was chief skully during his senior year. Other fraternity involvement consisted of serving as assistant section chief (1968- 1971), helping to restart the U.C. Berkeley chapter, and helping to sponsor and install new chapters at U.C. Riverside and San Diego State. He also served as president of the San Diego Fiji Alumni in 1978.

Brother Muns achieved an outstanding academic career while at the University. He was president of the sophomore class, a member of Sophos, Chain Gang, Bobcats, and the Traditions Committee. He was a member of Tau Beta Pi (honorary engineering fraternity). Ed graduated with a B.S. in civil engineering. Upon graduating from the U of A, Brother Muns went to work for a subsidiary of Morrison Knudson Company in Phoenix as a project engineer. In November of 1961, Ed was drafted into the Army. After basic training at Ft. Ord, California and advanced training at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, Brother Muns attended Officers Academy School and graduated in 1962 as the honor graduate. After completing his military obligation, Brother Muns moved to Washington, D.C. where he worked as a civil engineer for the National Park Service while attending law school at George Washington University in the evenings. On some nights and weekends, Ed worked for Arizona’s distinguished congressman, Morris Udall. Brother Muns says that the terrible weather in the D.C. area persuaded him to move back to the West in 1964. Ed went back to work for his former employer, Morrison Knudson, in Mississippi as a project engineer. In August of 1965, Brother Muns was transferred to Yuma, Arizona to work as the cost engineer on a project. In April of 1966, Brother Muns moved to the Los Angeles district office of Morrison Knudson where he did work and handled claims on many jobs throughout the United States. Brother Muns was sent by his company to a job in Lodi, California where he met his wife to be, Marylee, who was attending Stanford University. They were married the same week that Marylee graduated, which was June of 1967. In August of 1968, Brother Muns resigned from Morrison Knudson and enrolled in law school at U.C. Berkeley. Brother Muns states that he was the oldest man in his law class. He decided he would look younger if he grew a mustache and wore a hair piece, so he did. Upon graduation, Brother Muns went to work for a law firm in Alameda, California. In 1972, he went to work for a law firm in San Diego where he ultimately achieved partner status. In 1980, Ed started his own law firm which ultimately grew to 21 attorneys. In 1998, Brother Muns created a new law firm with his two daughters, Michelle and Heather, as partners. It is called The Muns Law Firm.

Brother Muns’ community and graduate involvement has been extensive. He has served twice as president of the San Diego chapter of the U of A Alumni Association and was selected as a honorary member of the U of A Letterman’s Club (A Club). Brother Muns is a member of the San Diego Rotary Club, past president of the Kearny Mesa Rotary Club, founder, president, and director of the Herron Foundation, founder and president of the Miami Sports Group, and director of San Diego Habitat for Humanity, to name a few.

Brother Muns states the following regarding his association with Fiji at Upsilon Alpha: “Association with the fraternity and its members during college and since has been the most rewarding and important aspect of my life outside my family. The personal values I developed during my time at Arizona have guided me in the conduct of my life since. I cannot imagine any relationship, other than that which I enjoy with my family, which could have been more meaningful or important in my life.”