Earl Edwards Sr.

1918 - 2015

Earl Arthur Edwards, Sr., age 96, passed peacefully on Monday, January 12, 2015 in Dayton, TN. He was born on October 19, 1918 in Upland, Kansas, the son of Eithel and Arthur Edwards. Earl married his college sweetheart, Catharine Delta Sheahon Edwards in April, 1941. She preceded him in death in 1974. Earl is survived by his six children, Judy Kay Edwards Schmidt of Crossville, Tennessee; Elizabeth Ann Edwards Smith of Bloomington, Illinois; Earl Arthur Edwards, Jr. of Crossville, Tennessee; Barbara Lynn Edwards Fawcett of Sheboygan, Wisconsin; Mary Joan Edwards Hildebrand of Kathleen, Georgia; and Stephen Timothy Edwards of San Diego, California. He has 13 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. Earl served in the US Navy from 1943-1946, graduating in 1948 from University of Kansas with a Bachelors Degree in Microbiology. He was commissioned in the Navy Reserves, as a Microbiologist in 1950, retiring from the Naval Reserve as a Commander in 1977. He worked for the State of Wisconsin, the US Federal Government Federal employee and retired from Federal Civil Service in 1984. His career took him to Beloit, Wisconsin; State Lab of Hygiene, Madison, Wisconsin, Great Lakes Naval Base (NAMRU#4), Illinois and San Diego Naval Health Research Lab at Point Loma, San Diego, CA. He was awarded a US Patent for a meningococcal vaccine and received many outstanding service awards over the years. Earl was the author or coauthor of over 90 peer reviewed publications on Microbiology, Epidemiology of Diseases, Microbiology Diagnostic Technology. He was a consultant to the World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland on the development of a Universal Standardized Technology for Diagnostic Microbiology and Virology. Earl touched many lives during his life, and will be well remembered by his family and friends, as well as those whose lives he saved by his dedication and medical expertise.