Edwin Milton Yoder

1934 - 2023

Edwin Milton Yoder

July 18, 1934 - November 30, 2023

Chapel Hill, North Carolina - Edwin M. Yoder, Jr. died November 30, 2023, at the Carol Woods Retirement Community in Chapel Hill after a brief illness. He was 89. His children Anne and Ted Yoder were with him in his final hours, for which they will be forever grateful.

He was born on July 18, 1934, in Greensboro and grew up in Mebane, NC, where his parents, Myrtice Logue and Edwin Moses Yoder, were leaders in primary education. Growing up, he and his younger brother, James Colin Yoder, enjoyed a freedom in that tight-knit community that can only be imagined in today's world. The two brothers carried those memories, forming a bond of kinship and friendship that endured until James's death in 2017.

He lived his life devoted to the humanities. He attended UNC-Chapel Hill (or just "Chapel Hill," as he always called it), where he majored in English and served as co-editor of the Daily Tar Heel. He credited his writing professor, Phillips Russell, with instilling in him a commitment to clear and concise writing. Most momentously, he met his future wife, Mary Jane Warwick, in a poetry class. His children often heard the tale of his glancing at the young woman seated next to him, noticing "her beautiful legs and stylish red dress." They married in 1958 and were lifelong partners until her death in 2021.

After graduating from UNC in 1956, Ed won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford, attending Jesus College, where he earned a Masters in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. From there he embarked on a storied career in journalism, writing opinion pieces and editing the editorial pages of the Greensboro Daily News and the Washington Star, among other notable newspapers. In 1979, he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in Editorial Writing for commenting on "current national events with the confident understanding of the political specialist, the objectivity of the historian, and with masterful literary grace." When the Washington Star shuttered its doors in 1981, he joined the Washington Post Writers Group, where he wrote a nationally syndicated column for the next 15 years. In 1992, he also joined the faculty of Washington & Lee University as a Professor of Humanities. He spent his retirement writing fiction and letters to editors, as well as producing a profusion of exuberant watercolor paintings.

His passion for books was unmatched, resulting in stacks, towers, and mountains of them throughout his home: "They breed in the night," he liked to joke. He lived an extraordinary life, dining with presidents, engaging with intellectual luminaries around the world, and garnering the highest honors in his profession. But it is his warm heart, wry wit, and deep love for his friends – notably, Willie Morris and John Maurice Evans ("Uncle Willie" and "Uncle Maurice," respectively) – that will forever live in the hearts of those who loved him. His children will always remember his infectious laugh, his nearly freakish total recall, and his ability to convey reams of information with a single perfectly chosen word. He was beloved.

He is survived by his daughter, Anne D. Yoder, and her husband, Dave Hart; his son, Teddy (Edwin) W. Yoder, and his wife, Maribeth Yoder; three grandsons, Spencer, Dylan, and Evan; and nephews Colin and Kevin Yoder. A service of thanksgiving for Ed's life will be conducted by the Rev. Elizabeth Marie Melchionni, Rector, at the Chapel of the Cross, 304 E. Franklin St, Chapel Hill, on January 6 at 2:30 p.m. A reception at the church will follow. Memorial contributions may be made to the Edwin & Myrtice Logue Yoder Educational Trust at UNC-Chapel Hill, which supports the UNC Institute for the Humanities.