CRAIG EDER

I am 81 years old and still remember him from St Albans. He was kind and soft spoken. All liked him and did not take advantage of his kindness.

I'm very sorry to have read in the obituaries that Craig E. Eder fell asleep in death. During this time of mourning, I would like to express my sincere condolence at the loss of your loved one and I pray everything is going as well as can be expected. With sincere sympathy to the family may these understanding thoughts help somehow to convey the sympathy that hearts can feel but words can never say. Precious in the eyes of God is the death of his loyal ones. Psalms 116:15. May God comfort...

I remember Rev. Eder as the Episcopal minister at St. Thomas and Emanuel Churches in White Sulphur Springs, WV, but not as a minister, but as a volunteer in the 4-H Camp program and 4-H leader program in Greenbrier County. I have given a copy of the Washington Post story from earlier in the week to members of St. Thomas and will pass along the memorial service information as well.

In 1992, when I finished my service in Peace Corps Rwanda, I briefly stayed with Rev and Edie at their home in NW. Rev was very interested in the work I had done in Rwanda. When the 1994 Rwanda Genocide broke out, Rev contacted me to ask me if there were anything he could do, and he then donated a large sum of money to a Rwandan friend of mine, who used it to save over eleven members of his family members.

Rev kept a 2-drawer filing cabinet in his St. Albans office. The lower drawer was labeled 'Sacred', and the upper drawer 'Top Sacred.' Among a faculty bristling with stern taskmasters, Rev stood apart for his warmth, patience and encouragement. A lovely man, and a sterling priest.

My deepest condolences. When I arrived at St. Albans in 1958, Rev Eder was one of the first persons to make me feel welcome. Coming from Denmark, I was far from fluent in English, but due to the warm wellcome I received, I felt right at home at St. Albans anyway. He was a very great and a caring man.