E.F. EDWARDS Obituary

E.F. EDWARDS 4/15/1943 - 7/19/2025 E.F. (Earl Franklin) Edwards, 82, passed away peacefully at his home in Joplin, Missouri, surrounded by his family on Saturday July 19, 2025. He was born on April 15, 1943, in Winters, Texas, to E.F. (Ernest Franklin) Edwards and Polly Elizabeth Tyler Edwards. His family moved to Ballinger, Texas in 1957, and he graduated from Ballinger High School in 1961 after having completed grades 1-6 in the Winters Elementary and Junior High School. He excelled at basketball playing center on the Ballinger Bearcat basketball team. After graduating from high school, he entered Texas Tech University where he earned a BS degree in electrical engineering and moved to Dallas, Texas, where he began working for LTV in Arlington, Texas. In 1972 he moved to Waco, Texas, and enrolled in Baylor University Law School where he earned a Juris Doctor degree in law in 1976. Upon graduation he moved back to Dallas where he practiced law until 1995 when he moved to Fort Collins, Colorado, and practiced law there until he retired in 2023. Earl had a special interest in bridge, playing regularly in a local group in Fort Collins where he was well respected as a friend, a mentor and a gentleman. He took lessons in bridge for one year before he began playing with the best players traveling to attend the National Bridge Tournaments held in different cities in the United States. Earl was a very loyal Texas Tech fan following and watched all their football, basketball, & softball games as well an avid Kansas City Chiefs fan. He knew all the players and coaches well enough to have long discussions with his friends. He loved reading as well as traveling, particularly in the United States and Europe. Earl was preceded in death by his wife, Therese Gloria Edwards, his parents, Ernest F. Edwards and his wife Polly Edwards, his infant sister Donna Ann Edwards, and his grandson, Todd Phillip Edwards. He is survived by his son, Morgan Tyler Edwards and wife Colette and grandsons Payton Tyler Edwards and Bentley Winston Edwards of San Antonio, Texas; his son Marcus Todd Edwards and wife Janie and granddaughter Rheya Lee Lane Edwards of Joplin, Missouri; brother Dr. Jon Edwards of New York City, New York and his spouse Van Harriman; and by his cousins Gloria Hoover of Austin, Texas, Lisa Robertson Roufa of Austin, Texas, Earl Robertson of Austin, Texas, William E. Gipson, Jr. of Fort Worth, Texas, and Carolyn Gipson Allen of Austin, Texas. The family wishes to express its sincere thanks to Earl's in-home care givers Marcus and Janie Edwards.