Edwin Wayne Hoskins

1931 - 2021

Edwin Wayne Hoskins, 89, longtime resident of Friendswood, Texas, passed away peacefully Saturday, April 10, 2021 at home. Ed was born August 17, 1931 in Southland, Texas to parents Charles and Dessie Hoskins. He was the oldest of four children and grew up on a West Texas cotton farm helping with the farm work. This included driving a John Deere tractor with plenty of time to think and to dream. He graduated from Lamesa High School in 1948. He hitchhiked to Texas A & M in the fall of 1948 at age 17 to begin his college career and graduated in January of 1953 with a degree in Industrial Engineering. He married Vernelle Ball Hoskins of Lamesa on December 21, 1951. They were married for 69 years and their commitment to each other was an example for many.

After spending four years in the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets, Ed went into the U.S. Air Force. He trained as a pilot and flew an F-86 Sabre jet while stationed in Japan for two years. In 1957, after leaving the Air Force, he went to work as a flight test engineer at General Dynamics in Fort Worth, Texas for eight years. In December of 1965 he went to work at NASA and moved to Friendswood, Texas where he continued to work until January 1997. At the Manned Spacecraft Center, he worked in Flight Crew Support training astronauts during the Apollo missions, and later as a Payload Specialist during the Space Shuttle Program.

He loved God, his family, and the community of Friendswood. Ed was active in the Friendswood Church of Christ and served as an elder for many years. He was a good friend and had a love for ministering to others. He felt blessed and was a blessing to many. Ed could fix anything and enjoyed working on lawnmowers and cars. He enjoyed camping and hiking with his family, especially in the national parks. Road trips included Yellowstone, Rocky Mountain National Park, Big Bend, and Washington D.C. Ed thoroughly enjoyed all that the great outdoors had to offer. He loved his family and made his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren feel special.

Ed is survived by his wife, Vernelle Ball Hoskins; his children, Janice Tenbush and her husband Ron, his daughter-in-law Carmen Foster and her husband J.R., Robert Hoskins and his wife Margaret, Mike Hoskins and his wife Lisa, Linda Haddock and her husband Mitchell, Van Hoskins and his wife Sondra, John Hoskins and his wife Natalie, and 19 grandchildren and 17 great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, his three sisters, Nina Williams, Jo Ann Staudt and Kay Feazell, and his son Hal Wayne Hoskins.

Friends are cordially invited to a visitation with the family from 5:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. on Friday April 16, 2021 at Jeter Memorial Funeral Home, 311 N. Friendswood Dr., Friendswood, Texas 77546 (281) 992-7200.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 17, 2021 at 1:00 P.M. at Southeast Church of Christ, 2400 Bay Area Blvd, Friendswood, Texas 77546 with Mike Ross officiating. Reception to follow. A private burial will be held at the Houston National Cemetery at a later date. Please note that social distancing in the church and masks will be required.

Condolences may be sent to the Hoskins family in care of Jeter Memorial Funeral Home at www.jeterfuneralhome.com.