John William EDWARDS, Sr b. 13 May 1893 Grand Rapids, MI d. 23 Oct 1979

1893 - 1979 (86 years)

Name	John William EDWARDS
Suffix	Sr
Born	13 May 1893	Grand Rapids, MI
Gender	Male
Died	23 Oct 1979
Person ID	I1380	TAP
Last Modified	28 Feb 2013

Father	John (JJ) EDWARDS, b. 20 Jul 1859, Forest Bay, MI , d. 26 Apr 1922, Ann Arbor, MI (Age 62 years)
Relationship	Natural
Mother	Mary Jane WARD, b. Abt 1855, Port Huron, MI , d. 28 Nov 1936, Ann Arbor MI (Age 81 years)
Relationship	Natural
Married	19 Apr 1882	Port Huron, MI
Family ID	F813	Group Sheet \| Family Chart

Family Esther Grace RYNEARSON, b. 18 Feb 1896, Three Oaks MI , d. 13 Apr 1988, Ann Arbor, MI (Age 92 years)

Married 28 Dec 1920

Children

	1. Joseph Ward EDWARDS, b. 12 Feb 1923, Ann Arbor MI (Age 101 years) [Natural]
	2. John William EDWARDS, Jr., b. 24 Sep 1925, Ann Arbor MI , d. 06 Jun 1986, Naples FL (Age 60 years) [Natural]
	3. Thomas EDWARDS, b. 1929, d. 1934 (Age 5 years) [Natural]
	4. Martin Harry EDWARDS, b. 04 Dec 1931 (Age 92 years) [Natural]
	5. Samuel Paul EDWARDS, b. 29 Dec 1935, Ann Arbor MI (Age 88 years) [Natural]

Last Modified 28 Feb 2013

Family ID F817 Group Sheet | Family Chart

Notes

SOI: Bk "Hist of Edwards Fam."
SOI: RN3741
16 G'children
__________________________________________
From the Edwards Family Yellow Pages 1977:
John was educated in Ann Arbor and attended several colleges, including State Normal College (now Eastern Michigan University) in Ypsilanti, the University of Detroit and the Univ of Michigan. He was a fine athelete who held the shot put record at Ann Arbor High School from 1906 - 1936. He also played football and baseball for various schools in the county.
Bill met Esther Rynearson through her brothers Elton, Ernie and Burt, who were also athletes and teammates of Bill's. He and Esther married in 1920. Two years later, he took over the management of Edwards Brothers, his father's mimeograph company, of which he was president until he died in 1950.
"Big Bill" as he was sometimes called for his great distance off the tee -- as well as his temper -- became an avid golfer and was an early president of Barton Hills Country Club. He is fondly remembered for the time he hit two to three balls (maybe more) into the third hold pond, and then threw his golf bag and clubs in after them. He later returned to his Sunday best, wading into the muddy water to retrieve his car keys from the bag pocket and throwing the bag and clubs back into the pond.
Esther's father and mogher Isaiah and Grace McCarten were married in Three Oaks, Michigan in 1885. Esther was 11 when the family moved to Ypsilanti, where she and her five siblings continued their education. She earned a master's degree in education at State Normal College and taught in the Detroit public school system until she married and moved to Ann Arbor.
She was a passionate supporter of anything Irish and loved to recount stories of her grandparents, both the McCartens and Rynearsons. She was a kind and loving mother to her five sons. In spite of the prolonged illness of her third son, Tommy, who later died of leukemia, she maintained a cheerful attitude and a deep and lasting devotion to her "boys" and their families until her death in 1989.
This article was written by Ann Edwards
_____________________________________________