Gary Earnest Edwards

09/21/1947 - 05/17/2025

Born September 21, 1947, in Monroe, MI to Earnest and Margaret Edwards, died May 17, 2025. Survived by daughters, Rachel Edwards and Natalie (Orfeo) Cellura, both of New York City, sister Peggy (David) Vaughn, nephew David Vaughn, niece Missie Myers and their children.
A first-generation college student, Gary graduated from Andrews University, obtained an M.A. from Yale and a J.D. from Georgetown, with additional graduate work at Princeton and Johns Hopkins. A true visionary, he pioneered the case for business ethics at the Ethics Resource Center (ERC) in Washington, DC in the 1980s and 1990s. Under Gary's leadership, the ERC helped top defense firms, corporations and governments develop robust ethics programs. His weekly radio broadcast "Ethics at Work" explored themes ranging from character education to public trust and corporate leadership. Later, he taught ethics at American University and University of Maryland. He cared deeply about this country and our collective and individual responsibility to make a difference.
Married from 1983-2003 to Karen Kosiba Edwards and in a more recent partnership with Lisa Ambrose, he was a devoted father who delighted in helping his daughters develop their respective passions and talents. Their childhood was enhanced by the extensive collection of pets Gary acquired, from gerbils, cats and dogs to fancy fish and geckos. Whether springing Rachel from school to attend a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert in another state or editing Natalie's college term papers, he kept current with their interests and showed up at every important event.
A voracious reader, Gary was never without a copy of T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets. He was a gifted writer, persuasive speaker, poetry, music and film lover. His friends and family remember him as a deep thinker with a lightening quick sense of humor. We can only try to re-create his Hunan chicken and lemon pasta.
A Celebration of Life will be held at St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church in Bethesda, MD on Monday, June 9, at 4 p.m. with a livestream recording via Facebook. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Dunstan's where Gary was an active member for many years and served on the Vestry.