Edwin Leslie Gideons

Edwin Leslie Gideons, 100 of Lakeland, Fl. Born : Sept 12, 1925 Lacoochee, FL to Enoch Washington Gideons and Ruhama Head Gideons passed away Wednesday Oct 8, 2025 in Lakeland. Edwin grew up during the depression becoming an entrepreneur at the age of 8 years old. After school he and his brother WJ would grow peanuts boil water, add salt then sell bags of peanuts for $0.04 or $0.05 to the workers at Cummer's Saw Mill. They would get twice the amount of money others would get per bag due to their process. Ed started a "Moss" business at around 13 years old after his dad passed. He would climb trees like a monkey and pull moss before and after school, enough to fill two pick-up trucks a day. His competitors would not climb trees. Blackened moss would pay $0.04 a pound and green moss would get 2 cents per pound. Ed would boil water and put lime in the water then pour it over the moss. This would turn the moss black and it would cure the moss of bugs and insects in days as opposed to weeks. Ed was a very hard worker all his life working as a logger wading in swamps up to his neck to cut and retrieve cypress logs. He drove log trucks, dump trucks, installed railroad tracks from Trilby to Bushnell. At 17 years of age on June 4, 1943 Edwin joined the United States Navy. Because of his mechanical ability the Navy sent him to Cecil Field in Jacksonville to work repairing and testing aircraft such as Douglas SBD dive bombers. He would often fly with pilots on test runs to make sure everything was operational. He claims he became deft in one ear from going up in the test flights.
Prior to his last year of service, he was given orders to report to San Francisco, California to board the USS Yorktown Aircraft Carrier called "The Fighting Lady". They were given orders to remove all aircraft and prepare the ship for Operation "Majik Carpet". They went to Hawaii and then to Manila, Philippine's. There, they loaded 4000 soldiers and 1500 marines to bring back to the USA. Upon returning to the US, he was scheduled to go to Guam for 1.5 year deployment. His enlistment was up and he chose instead to be discharged.
After returning to Lacoochee, a friend introduced him to Thelma Slaughter, and on May 9, 1947, Ed and Thelma were married at Oakridge Baptist Church. Their marriage began in a little 2 room house, with no inside plumbing and no shower. He moved to Tampa, working many jobs and in 1956 he went to work with Otis Elevator. His career allowed him the luxury of riding motorcycles while camping at Croome. He, along with a few other riders, created some of the most dangerous trails, attracting riders from all over Florida.
He built and sold residences, mobile home park, a 92-acre farm with cows, pigs and horses. He and Thelma were married 72 years. He was the last sibling and oldest patriarch in the Gideons Family. Edwin was Preceded in death by 6 sisters and 3 brothers and his wife Thelma of 72 years. Survived by his sons and daughters-in-law, Les & Joyce, Wayne & Gwen, Burt & Debbie Gideons. 7 grandchildren, 18 great-grand children and 6 great-great-grandchildren To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Edwin, please visit our floral store.