Col. Edward Heywood Day Jr.

Col. Edward Heywood Day Jr., 93, died Sunday, Aug. 27, 2023, surrounded by his wife, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Survivors include his wife of 68 years, Emma Higgins Day; a son, John (Ellen Steed); two daughters, Kitty Day and Suzanne Cheek (Alan); a son, Edward H. Day III (Donna); six grandchildren, John Woodson Day (Emily), Kathryn LeSaffre (Mark), Olivia Cheek, Charlotte Cheek, Hannah Day and William Roden; three great-grandchildren, Nylah Day, Macy Day and Daniel LeSaffre; and by many cherished in-laws, nieces and nephews.

Heywood was born in South Orange, New Jersey, on Jan. 29, 1930, to Edward Heywood Day Sr. and Mary Bernardine Bridget. He grew up as part of a large dynamic family. He spent his early years in South Orange and moved to Earlysville, Virginia, with his family in 1942 to their farm, Ardwood.

Heywood graduated from Lane High School in 1947 and enrolled in University of Virginia. While in the ROTC program at UVA, the Korean War started and he joined the U.S. Marine Corp and served at Camp Lejeune. In 1952, upon honorable discharge from the Marines, he re-enrolled at the University of Virginia and was a Phi Kappa Psi. He met Emma Jean Higgins at a fraternity party and upon obtaining his commission in the U.S. Army, they married on Jan. 15, 1955, and moved to Fort Knox, his first duty station. He served two tours of duty in Germany, the first as a tank platoon leader and tank company commander and the second tour as a cavalry troop commander, deployed on the East West German border. Later, he served two tours in what was then the Republic of Vietnam, during the periods of 1967-1968 and 1972-1973, where he was assigned to the Military Assistance Command Vietnam J3, Operations, and later chief of the Operations Division, base and inland water ways security, U.S. Army, Vietnam, respectively.

Heywood commanded two training battalions at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and subsequently received a degree in criminal justice from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He was later assigned for two years as the deputy provost marshal Fort Hood, Texas, prior to his arrival at Fort Knox in 1977. During the period 1977-1979, he was the chief of the Materiel Systems Division, Directorate of Combat Development, which was deeply involved in the development of the M1 Tank. He assumed duties as the provost marshal, the Armor Center and Fort Knox from July 1979 to August 1982 and retired from activity duty from Fort Knox in 1985, where it all started.
Heywood loved his country, his Army and his family and was a true Muddy Boot Tanker. He epitomized the concept of being prepared, learned as a young tanker in Germany; ""good judgment comes from experience and most experience comes from bad judgment."" Another strong personal philosophy was that if one was good, two was better and three was best. He valued a strong work ethic, perseverance and following one's intuition – or as he liked to call it – intestinal fortitude. He was known as an accomplished joke teller and he had an unlimited supply, he took great pleasure in cross country road trips, a good afternoon on the gun range with friends, a tall bourbon with a cigar and talking on the phone and reminiscing. Most of all, he loved his wife, Emma.

Heywood was preceded in death by his father, Edward Heywood Day Sr.; his mother, Bernardine Bridget Day; a brother, John W. Day; five sisters, Jule Day Sloane, Bernardine Day Morris, Ruth Day Grinnell, Patricia Day Jamme and Sarah Day Christian; and two nephews, Tammy Grinnell and Stuart Bergwall.

A Mass of Christian burial is at noon Tuesday, Sept. 5, at St. Christopher Parish, 1225 S. Wilson Road in Radcliff.

Interment with full military honors is at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday at Kentucky Veterans Cemetery-Central, 2501 N. Dixie Blvd. in Radcliff.

Visitation is from 3 to 6 p.m. Monday at Chism Family Funeral Home, 769 Highland Ave. in Vine Grove and continues from 11 a.m. to noon Tuesday at the church.

Expressions of sympathy may be made to Honor Flight Kentucky at //honorflightky.org/.

The family would like to thank the staff at Sunrise Senior Living for their exemplary care and kindness in this last year.