Clifton Hugh Edwards

Clifton Hugh Edwards

Clifton Hugh Edwards, Jr., 91, died peacefully on Thursday, January 19th, at Cypress Glen, Greenville, NC. He was the son of the late Clifton Hugh Edwards and Mary Lee Gallup Edwards.

The family welcome all who knew Cliff to attend a celebration of his life to be held at First Christian Church on Sunday the 22nd at 2:30 p.m. Immediately after the service the family invites all for visitation in the Narthex.

Cliff was born in Greenville, NC, on October 9, 1925. Cliff attended Greenville City Schools and graduated from Staunton Military Academy in Virginia. He had a love of horses and entered numerous competitions in his youth. He later attended North Carolina State University in Raleigh prior to enlisting in the U.S. Air Force, where he served as a radar technician. After honorable discharge in 1946, he entered the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Due to his father's death in 1948, he returned to Greenville to manage the family business, C. H. Edwards Hardware & Sporting Goods, a general hardware store. In 1961, Cliff attended the Builders Hardware School in New Britain, Connecticut, and established C. H. Edwards, Inc., a distributor/subcontractor of architectural products now serving the commercial construction industry from South Carolina to Maryland in the U.S. as well as overseas in the Middle and Far East.

Since boyhood, Cliff enjoyed spending time at the family cottage in Atlantic Beach, NC. In later years, after retiring in 1995, he spent the winter months in Florida, where he and wife Ann enjoyed being near the coast. Eating great seafood and breathing sea air were his true passions.

Cliff's friendly smile and generous spirit will be missed by all who knew him.

Cliff was a member of the First Christian Church and had served on the Finance Committee. He had been a director of the Greenville Merchants Association and was a past member of the Kiwanis Club, the American Legion, and the Masonic Lodge.

He is survived by his beloved wife of 67 years, Ann Morton Edwards; his son Clifton H. Edwards III and wife Chris of Greenville; his son Shep Morton Edwards and wife Debbie of Greenville; his grandchildren Sara Moore and husband Daniel of Raleigh, NC, Clifton Edwards IV, and Catherine Edwards of Greenville; his grandchildren Carter Edwards, Thomas Edwards, and Caroline Edwards of Greenville; and great-grandchildren Reeves, Tyler, and Grey Moore of Raleigh, and brother-in-law Dr. Jacob C. Gaskins of Greenville.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to First Christian Church, PO Box 2366, Greenville, NC 27836 or Wounded Warrior Project, PO Box 758541, Topeka, Kansas 66675-8541.

Online condolences at www.wilkersonfuneralhome.com.

As published in The Daily Reflector