Ned Eddins Obituary

Orland Ned Eddins

1932 - 2025 Life Well Lived

Afton, WY-Ned was an amazing man with a wide variety of interests - in each he exceled. A father, veterinarian, horseman, certified AQHA and APHA horse show judge, served in the Air Force during the Korean war, skiing instructor at Park City Resort, author, historian, and award-winning wildlife photographer. A vault of knowledge in his many areas of expertise. A teller of stories many historically accurate, some just fun tales. A wonderful friend to many.

Ned received a bachelor's and master's degree from the University of Utah, and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Colorado State University. He practiced veterinary medicine while completing a post-doctoral research grant on equine reproduction.

His enduring legacy will be his research and publications in two diverse fields. During his 20 years of practicing veterinary medicine, he advanced techniques in equine reproduction and nutrition. In addition to publishing scientific papers, he lectured at multiple universities in the United States, Japan, and Brazil. In his later years he developed an intense curiosity about mountain men, the Rocky Mountain fur trade, western expansion, Plains Indian culture, and his own ancestors' histories. He founded an educational website to publish his numerous articles and photographs, www.furtrapper.com, and wrote two historical novels: Mountains of Stone and The Winds of Change. He also contributed to and served on the peer review committee for The Rocky Mountain Fur Trade journal, and received the Award of Excellence from the Jedidiah Smith Society. Ned insisted on genuine authenticity by riding a horse and leading a pack mule over many of the same trails as those of mountain men, explorers, and his ancestors, over 190 years ago.

Born in Afton, Wyoming, to Orland Gilby Eddins and Isabel Ada Sessions. He is survived by son Doran Bart Eddins and his wife Irma Hernandez Eddins, daughter Susan Kim Eddins and ex-husband Daniel Betts Beringer, grandchildren Miranda Rene Granda and husband Louie Granda, Matthew Paul Jio, and Karson Eddins Beringer, and brother Albert (Bert) Sessions Eddins and wife Gayle Larson Eddins. He was preceded in death by his son David Bret Eddins and ex-wife Judith Treloar Eddins.