Elwin Edwards Jr.

Elwin Edwards Jr, known to most as "Ed", peacefully answered the call to live with his Lord in the early morning hours of March 11, 2025. He was preceded in death by his father Elwin Edwards Sr, mother Betty Edwards, and brother Timothy "Tim" Edwards, and is survived by his wife Shelley Edwards, son "Johnny" Edwards, sister Karon "Kay" Deal, and brother-in-law John Deal, among others.

Ed was born on a cold and rainy day in Charlotte, North Carolina, the weather a poor omen for the warmth and joy he would bring others in the life he was about to begin. Several years after his birth, his family moved to Florida to support Elwin Sr's career, before moving back to North Carolina during Ed's teenage years. Aside from a short span living in South Carolina, Ed would spend the final half century of his life calling the Tar Heel State home. Ed wed his wife Shelley in his early 30's. The two divorcees, both victims of adultery in their prior marriages, became the balm each other's souls desperately needed, and produced Ed's only child, Johnny. Ed would dedicate the remaining three decades of his life to selflessly providing for his family, only ceasing his weekly labors in his early 60's, when he began the long battle with the health issues that would eventually claim his mortal life and beckon God to guide his immortal soul to dwell in His holy house alongside his departed loved ones for eternity.

Ed was old-fashioned. He inherited and embraced traditional southern values such as Christian beliefs, Republican adherence, and God's command for men being to provide for their wife and children's Earthly well-being, teach them the importance of Godly submission, and lead their souls to Christ. Ed's bravado, toughness, and determination was unwavering and passionate. At times, his confidence could come across as infuriating for those who failed to grasp his vision for how a situation might be resolved, yet, even as they cursed him in agitation, they often silently envied his approach to life. When Ed decided he wanted to do something, he did it, and neither external circumstances or the objections of ignorant onlookers could sway him from his goal.

Fiercely patriotic, Ed's neck was red, his hair was white, and his collar was blue. He took immense pride in his home, unapologetically considering North Carolina the greatest state in the country, and the United States of America the greatest country in the world. He fed his family by doing work that a lesser man from a younger generation might relentlessly study for acceptance into college to avoid. He earned enough money doing freelance lawn care to buy his own lawnmower without his parents' financial aid before finishing high school. Shortly after graduating, Ed began working at Brandt Manufacturing under Elwin Sr, primarily repairing their automatic coin counting machines. One of Ed's greatest strengths was his charisma. Full of southern charm and wielding a playful grin, it was effortless to gravitate towards him. Krispy Kreme was one of his primary clients while working with Brandt in the 1980's. One owner of a store he frequently serviced was always quick with a "Hey, Ed!" accompanied by a complimentary doughnut and coffee upon seeing him walk through the door to maintain their equipment. He worked at General Electric in semi-trailer repair in the early 2000's and 2010's, where his work was lauded by his peers. At one point he held the distinction of second-most productive employee in his field in the southeast.

The highlight of Ed's resume was the nearly two decades he spent working at US Airways, now part of American Airlines, where he worked primarily in heavy maintenance. Anyone who's ever watched a documentary on aviation accidents knows how easily negligence or shortcuts by those responsible for keeping aircraft in working order can end in catastrophe. Ed knew this all too well, and upheld a lesson passed down from his father: "Whatever you do in life, be the best at it that you can be". The fact that he held people's lives in his hands when turning a wrench or replacing a part was never far from his mind, and he was uncompromising in doing his job right the first time, even receiving a commendation from the Charlotte Safety Committee on October 30, 1995 for his part in preventing a ground collision. This commendation still hangs on the Edwards family household's walls, though Ed, like most heroes, took almost no pride in his diligence.

Any who would interpret this as proof that Ed was a corporate pawn would be sorely mistaken. Ed represented the best of both worlds. Though his views largely aligned with those passed down from generation to generation in the American south, he was fiercely pro-union during a time and place in which union culture was all but non-existent, and was picketing for better working conditions for US Airways employees when he learned of his son's conception. Throughout his career he staunchly refused to sacrifice safety in order to do a 30 minute job in 20, never hesitating to heroically stand up to anyone who wasn't satisfied doing things by the book. Unlike so many of us, Ed never measured himself by occupational successes and failures, viewing them purely as a means to facilitate more important things. "Do your eight and hit the gate" was Ed's motto. When he suffered his first heart attack in 2002 and was left with 10% heart damage, he was back at work within a week, sweating it out in 100 degree weather at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, not to please a boss or appease his ego, but to put food on the table for his family. When his son once pondered that "The measure of a man is how much work they do", Ed was quick to correct his ignorance.

Athletics played a huge role in Ed's life. He was a catcher when he played baseball in his teenage years, fellow catcher Johnny Bench of the Cincinnati Reds being one of his favorite players. By his own admission, baseball was his best sport, but he was compelled by his love of the game to devote himself to gridiron football in high school. Ed primarily played offensive line, while also experimenting with defensive line and linebacker. He was a lifelong fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers, in particular Mike Webster and Jack Lambert. Chuck Noll once brought his Steelers to Florida for spring training, and imposed a midnight curfew on them. When several players violated it by partying, Noll "sentenced" them to spend time mentoring the students at a nearby high school, as fate would have it, the one Ed was attending. Those few hours learning under them was all it took to ensure Ed spent the rest of his life passionately waving a terrible towel, and in the half century that followed, Ed's exclamations of excitement, or sentiments regarding the lack of toughness modern NFL players showed, bellowed through the Edwards family's halls during football season.

Ed never forgot the baseball diamond, and joined the rest of his beloved south in adopting the Braves when they relocated from Milwaukee to Atlanta in 1966. By 2021, Ed was bravely enduring three dialysis sessions per week. These left him exhausted, and if you walked by his bedroom and looked through the crack in the door during this time you'd probably see him asleep, remote next to his hand, an oxygen machine working to aid his breathing while his Braves pieced together yet another 9th inning comeback en route to a World Series victory. Ed knew the Braves shouldn't have allowed Freddie Freeman to sign with the Dodgers prior to the 2022 season, and made this insight known countless times. Ed was in the hospital when Freeman hit four home runs in the 2024 World Series. When asked by his son after he returned home whether he saw Freeman's performance, Ed simply smiled, saying one last time with confidence that can only come from being proven right: "The Braves never should've [let him go]". Other sports teams he proudly supported included Clemson Tigers Football and the Charlotte Knights.

Ed's greatest contribution to the world of athletics was as a high school football coach. Ed was part of Bruce Hardin's staff at West Charlotte High School in the 1980's, where his work as their offensive line coach was widely respected by his peers. One of Hardin's go-to plays became a running play which Ed designed that involved pulling the center and sending them ahead of the running back as a blocker. One of Ed's superiors, meanwhile, called his offensive line "The best in the state" in a private letter. Countless former players approached Ed in his lifetime, but few wanted to discuss their playing days with him. Most thanked him for the lessons and mentalities he instilled in them, which let them achieve their goals in life after retiring from football.

Ed's hobbies were numerous. In the 1980's he took up competitive bass fishing, bodybuilding, and motocross. He encountered seven time Nascar champion Dale Earnhardt while fishing on Lake Wylie, though the extent of their interaction was limited to Ed chewing The Intimidator out over the high rate of speed he'd been carrying on the water. Brief word from your author: Some stories just can't be made up. This is one of them. He worked out at the original King's Gym on South Tryon Street in Charlotte, where he met several wrestlers who would eventually be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Were it not for a broken shoulder suffered in an unrelated road accident, he likely would've won a championship in the motocross league he competed in. In the 1990's, having answered the call to make his household his life's work, he learned the game of golf, eventually refining his game sufficiently to complete a round without going over par. Throughout his life, he was an amateur chef, often spending hours on end joyfully refining recipes in the Edwards family's kitchen.

Ed began to work alongside John Deal on the latter's property in the North Carolina mountains as the 21st century began. Ed and John were extremely close, often referring to each other as their "Brother from another mother".  He was quick to chastise any hunter who harvested a deer before they'd reached old age and contributed all they could to the deer population's growth. Ed owned a bow, spent untold hours in tree stands and camouflage, and considered himself a hunter, but make no mistake, unlike so many keyboard warriors who fancy themselves animal rights activists and destroy all they claim to fight for with their ignorance, Ed was a steward of wildlife, not its killer. In over 15 years of hunting, Ed took only a handful of deer, not due to a lack of opportunity or ability, but because he was blessed with the wisdom to know when it was appropriate to end the life of one of God's creatures. God ensured Ed had a means of passing this wisdom on to countless others. He was a member of Mossy Oak Pro Staff during this time, representing products such as Bio Logic and Bear Archery.

Ed's health began to decline in 2018 after his second heart attack. Soon thereafter began his long battle with renal failure. The next six years left him a shell of himself. Dialysis weakened him immensely, complications resulting from the shoulder he'd broken decades prior caused him agonizing pain, and the cancer which took his life subjected him to suffering and indignity best left unsaid. The bravado that had driven Ed his entire life became his curse, leaving him unable to be the man he knew God called him to be. This crushed him emotionally, yet he never once wavered, fighting to the bitter end with the same determination that had seen him through all those football fields and blue collar work shifts. Finally, with just days left to live, a lifetime of wisdom told Ed it was time to stop fighting. He abandoned dialysis and cancer treatments and entered hospice care, resigning himself to his fate and placing his faith in God. Those who saw him during this time were awed by his bravery, so pure and powerful that even in that frail state, he seemed as though he was the strongest man in the world. Perhaps that bravery wasn't his at all. It almost seemed as if God Himself was letting Ed take of his might, that he may die with the same dignity he lived with. It's on this note, this final example of silent leadership that Ed provided to all who were fortunate enough to know him in life, that we surrender him to Christ, simultaneously no longer ours yet always a part of us, and a source of memories which can teach us about the lives without him which we must now begin.

Ed's surviving family has decided not to hold a public funeral for Ed. We ask that you respect their wishes in this matter and inform any you know that knew Ed aware of this obituary, and encourage them to do the same. For those wishing to say goodbye, the author of this obituary suggests you listen to Freebird by Lynyrd Skynyrd while reflecting on your memories of him. Ed, who was a great fan of the band's original lineup, often expressed his wish for the song to be played during posthumous remembrances of his life. Prayers for the continued faith, health, and strength of Ed's family and friends would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Ed's memory can be made to the National Deer Association: https://deerassociation.com/