He was pretty much cold and uncaring initially. Then Mrs. McKloskey told a story about a conversation between her and Edie during which Edie said that she gave him up because she knew he would grow up better without her because she was a failure as a mom, basically. He did end up thanking for them coming but refused Edie's ashes, so the women scattered them all over Wisteria Lane. It's available to watch on abc.com and may be worth it, if you're into mushy sentimental stuff
