William L. Edwards Jr.

August 10, 1950 - August 27, 2020

On Thursday, August 27, 2020, William L. Edwards Jr., loving partner and father of two children, passed away at the age of 70. Willie was born on August 10, 1950 in Portsmouth, VA to William and Rosemary (Miniello) Edwards and lived his formative years in Cleveland, OH. He served from 1968 to 1972 as a Seabee in the US Navy before earning his BSED and MED from UNLV and his EdD from the University of Nevada Reno in 2003. He taught as a Professor of Teacher Education at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, MO until his retirement in 2015. He and his then-wife Karen raised their two children, Michael and Sarah in Carson Valley, Nevada. Willie had a passion for education, etymology and in his younger years piloting gliders. His solid work ethic belied his underlying life philosophy of work to live, not live to work. His greatest possessions in life were his travel experiences and his time spent gently teasing his loved ones. He had a lifelong love-hate relationship with Cleveland sports franchises and a love of American history. He never met a cruise he didn't like nor a country to which he wouldn't travel. He was known for his generosity, his sense of humor and his never-ending plethora of factoids. Willie was preceded in death by his father, William, his mother, Rosemary and his sister, Mary Beth. He is survived by his significant other, Merrilou; his two children, Sarah (children Owen and Jakob) and Michael (wife Isabel); his siblings Donna (husband Robert, child Danny) and Rebecca (wife KC), his brother Joseph, and his nephew Mike (wife Lisa). A virtual memorial service will be held in late September. For more information please call or text (479) 310-6466. We press on.