Larry Edwards Obituary

Burlington - (In his own words)

On June 28, 2025, Larry Edwards spread his wings, flew to heaven, and is even now swapping jokes with Jesus. He died surrounded by tubes and an array of expensive medical equipment having accepted the inevitability of death.

Larry was born 9/13/38 to working class parents in Central Illinois. His boyhood years were lived in an Illinois Central depot where his father was station agent. (The depot is now a railroad museum and on the National Register of Historic Places.)

After graduating from Northern Illinois University, he taught English briefly in Dixon, Illinois before leaving for Chicago to seek a post-graduate degree and his fortune - both of which eluded him. After two years at Northern Baptist Seminary (where they didn't like his questions and he didn't like their answers) he transferred to the University of Chicago Divinity School for which he found he was academically unprepared.

Dropping out he enlisted in the newly-formed War on Poverty to be trained as an employment counselor for inner city youth. His experiences prompted him to become socially active. He bought a house in a racially changing neighborhood, formed a block club, and became a campaign worker for reform Democrats. He joined an integrated American Baptist church, participated in civil rights activities including open-housing marches into white-only neighborhoods led by Martin Luther King Jr., and later, marches against the Vietnam war. He provided assistance to the victims of the 'police riot' during the 1968 Democratic Convention.

In 1972 Larry married his wife, Pat, and assumed full-time custody of his daughter, Deborah, from a previous marriage. In 1976 the family moved to Burlington, Pat's hometown. When the PORTAL program at the former Northern State Hospital was opened in 1978, Larry was hired to set up its sheltered workshop for the 100+ mentally ill residents there. After its successful establishment, Larry transferred to the Department of Labor and Industries, where for 16 years he assisted injured workers in returning to gainful employment.

After retiring early, Larry and Pat travelled regularly to Dixieland festivals, national parks and abroad, including Vietnam. He devoted himself to writing a monthly letter to the Skagit Valley Herald on a potpourri of moral issues and various political and religious hypocrisies. He enjoyed many recreational activities from bowling and ping pong to bridge and bocce. He was a long-time participant in the Skagit Audubon hiking group and rode many of the region's bike trails with Pat.

Larry served for more than 20 years in many capacities at Trinity United Presbyterian Church before resigning, disillusioned with the increasingly conservative political opinions and social policies of American churches at the local and national levels.

Larry was predeceased by his parents, his brother Alan, and his daughter Debbie. He is survived by his wife, Pat, his sister-in-law Jeri, and nieces and nephews Mary Beth, Mark, Patricia, Sharon, and Daniel. In lieu of flowers, send a contribution to the ACLU or The Nature Conservancy. Larry's cremains will be scattered on the Skagit River where he spent so many fishless hours.