Avron James (A.J.) Edwards passed away January 21, 2016. He was born on July 22, 1925, in Port Arthur, Texas to James Franklin Edwards and Eunice Irene Montgomery Edwards. His maternal grandparents were William Ira Montgomery and Hannah Hudson Montgomery. His paternal grandparents were Joseph Franklin Edwards and Cornelia Laird Edwards.
A.J. was preceded in death by his parents as well as his sisters, Ruby Hays and Irene Becker, both of Oregon. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Thelma Ruth Compton Edwards; his daughters, Carolyn Cayson (Burt), and Pamela Matau (Alex). Additional survivors include his four grandchildren, Joshua Cayson, Andrew Cayson, Lindsey Buerger (Nick), and Kari Ward (Dillon); his five great grandchildren, James Cayson, Tiffany Cayson, Elijah Buerger, Emmeri Buerger, and Reagan Dawson.
He is also survived by his sisters-in-law, Theda Lacy, Audrey Compton and Peggy McCarley; his brother-in-law, Buddy Compton and his wife Novella, his brother-in-law Jay Hays and his wife Norma, and numerous nieces and nephews.
After graduating from high school in 1943, A.J. joined the US Army and served in combat as an infantryman in World War II in France and Germany. After serving in the US Army, A.J. attended the University of Houston and studied engineering.
In 1959, A.J. re-enlisted in the US army and served until 1962, performing radar fire control calibration and nuclear warhead electronic maintenance and calibration. From 1962 to 1964, A.J. worked in Alaska, Canada, and Greenland as a lead calibration technician on the DEW (Distant Early Warning) Line which was radar set up to detect incoming Soviet bombers during the Cold War, and provide early warning for a land based invasion. From 1964 to 1973 he worked for IBM at Cape Kennedy, in Florida as a quality engineer where he interfaced with NASA in the implementation of a configuration management system on the instrument units of the Apollo/Saturn space launches. He received many awards for his outstanding work there and had the privilege of meeting all the astronauts. As the space program was coming to a halt, A.J. transferred with IBM to Manassas, Virginia, in 1973, and then subsequently transferred to Austin, Texas, where he retired from IBM in 1988.
While A.J. led a very interesting work life, the most important thing to him was family. A.J. was a devoted husband, father and grandfather. His favorite thing was spending time with family, children, grandchildren and all of his nieces and nephews. He was a loving, kind, generous, patient, encouraging, humble and compassionate man. He will be missed beyond measure by all who knew him.
A.J. was also a man of many interests and talents. He and Thelma were very active in square dancing organizations while living in Florida. They also enjoyed traveling and visited many interesting places. He was an excellent mechanic and could fix anything even if he had to make his own parts. He had a passion for hunting and fishing and enjoying the outdoors and nature. After retirement, A.J. became proficient at whittling the most charming figures and objects. He was a master at woodworking and made many beautiful handcrafted wooden bowls and dishes. He also liked to write poetry and wrote a special poem for each of his grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the National Parkinson Association or the American Heart Association.
Services will be at the First Baptist Church of Celeste, in Celeste, Texas on Sunday January 24, 2016. Visitation will be at 2:00 P.M. and the funeral service will be at 3:00 P.M. Burial will follow at the Celeste Cemetery. His nephews will serve as pallbearers.