David Judd Edwards

1943 - 2020

LAWRENCE, Kan. - It is with great sadness that the family of David Judd Edwards, Lawrence, Kansas, loving and devoted family man, student, medical doctor, artist blacksmith, and mentor/teacher, announces his passing at home on Monday, October 19, 2020, at the age of 77 with his family. Cause of death was heart failure aggravated by pulmonary fibrosis. He and his wife lived for 40 years in Emporia, Kansas.
David was born August 27, 1943, in Jefferson City, Missouri, to David Russell (D.R.) and Margaret Maurine Judd Edwards. He graduated from Smith-Cotton High School in Sedalia, Missouri, in 1961, received a BA from Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, in 1965, and his M.D. from the University of Missouri at Columbia in 1969. His orthopedic residence was with the U.S. Army Medical Corps.
On August 2, 1965, he married Betty Mae Heuerman in Sedalia, Missouri. He is survived and will be lovingly remembered by his wife of 55 years, his son, David Keith Edwards and granddaughter, Eva, of Glendale, California, his son, Kevin Scott Edwards, daughter-in-law, Gina, and granddaughter, Mary Adiva "Addie," of Lawrence, Kansas.
David served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps on active duty from 1968-1977. He was a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a Diplomate of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. He practiced with Emporia Orthopedic Associates from 1977 until his retirement in December of 2003. He and his wife then formed Persimmon Forge artist blacksmithing studio from which he retired in 2018.
Three words that might sum up his life are "Is it so?" He received much comfort from Zen concepts. He was a lover and observer of nature and the world around him.
To quote a medical friend, "The artwork you have created and that is spread around a fairly large area will be much more enduring than surgical repairs as that artwork leaves as we leave. Metal will take a while to return to dust. I think your second career was a dandy and one enjoyed by many people. Pretty neat legacy."
To quote the sentiments and aims of his sons in regard to their daughters, "to pass forward as much as I was able to pick up from you, to have her next 70 years to be as fruitful as yours - to study broadly and deeply and to create useful and beautiful things, and to share and teach others also how to do those things, and to be happy."
David was cremated. No services are planned at this time.
Memorial donations are suggested to Visiting Nurses Hospice, 200 Maine St., Suite C, Lawrence, Kansas, 66044, or the Wounded Warrior Project, https://bit.ly/2ThW9AB.
Condolences may be sent to bhedwards@midco.net.