Jerry Edwards

Jerry Wayne (Jake) Edwards (85) passed away on March 31, 2025 following complications from surgery. Born July 4, 1939, he spent his childhood in Center Village, Ohio and was a 1957 graduate of Big Walnut High School, where he was a member of the football, basketball, and track teams. In high school he was proud to have been coached by NFL player and coach Vince Costello.
After high school, he served in the U.S. Army Reserve from June to December 1957. He started his professional career at Western Electric in Columbus, the precursor to AT&T and then Lucent Technologies. A paycheck looked better to him than books, so he stayed there for 30 years, retiring in 1989 as an associate engineer.
He married Sue Neanen in May 1968 and moved to Canal Winchester, where they built the house they lived in for the rest of his life. He immediately filled the former farmland with evergreens and started a garden that grew each year.
Jerry was an avid bicycle rider who clocked 100,000 miles across the countryside before hanging up his biking shorts in his fifties. Most notable was a week-long ride from Rapid City, South Dakota to New Madison, Ohio, his wife's hometown near the Indiana border. Off the bicycle, he was winning trophies in many other activities such as golf, bowling, softball, volleyball, and motocross.
An only child, Jerry was preceded in death by his parents, Mary Alice Parady Nuetzel and Kenneth Osage Edwards; father- and mother-in law, Bob and Marie Neanen; brother-in-law, Phil Neanen; and grandchildren Mary Grace, Joseph, and Sophia Edwards.
Jerry is survived by his wife of 56 years, Sue. His children-Staci (Mark) Howard, Wade (Heather) Edwards, and Chad (Michelle) Edwards-were his pride and joy. He was always asking, "What did I ever do to deserve the kids I have?"
He was known as Pa to his surviving grandchildren: Jessica Howard, Briana (Tim) Talley, Jaren Howard, Jesse (Hannah) Edwards, Isabelle Edwards, Jake Howard (fiancée Mya Hochradel), Benedict Edwards, Christian Edwards, and Aaron Edwards. His great-grandchildren are Londyn, Jais, and Mila Mcgee; Damian, Luke, Dominic, and Michael Talley; Parker and Koen Howard; and Goretti Edwards. His sister-in-law is Linda Neanen, and his first cousin is Jim (Mary Jane) Parady.
Arrangements are provided by Spence Funeral Home, 650 West Waterloo Street, Canal Winchester. Visiting hours are scheduled for Thursday, April 10, 2025 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm with a celebration of life, led by Pastor Charlene Mitchell, to follow at 1:00 pm. For those who cannot attend in-person, the service will be live-streamed on the Spence Funeral Home website. Interment to follow at Lithopolis Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Brock Strong Foundation-brockstrongfoundation.com-may be made in Jerry's name.