Funeral Services For William John Edwards

 Memorial Funeral Mass for William John Edwards, age 89, of Inman will be 10:30 am Friday, April 13, 2018 at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in O’Neill.  

Burial will be held at 2:00 p.m. at the Orchard Hill Cemetery with Military Rites provided by the Orchard American Legion Victory Post 136.

There will be no Memorial Visitation the evening prior to the service. Bill passed away on Monday, April 9, 2018 at his home in Inman.  

The family requests that memorial contributions be made in the name of William John Edwards to Autism Speaks; 1060 State Road, Second Floor, Princeton, New Jersey, 08540.  

Biglin’s Mortuary in O’Neill is in charge of the arrangements. 

William John “Bill/Bud” Edwards was born on November 4, 1928 and passed away on April 9, 2018.  His parents, John William and Mabel (Meuret) Edwards raised him with three brothers and two sisters on their family’s homestead located two miles west and six miles north of Orchard, NE. 

Bill graduated from Orchard High School in 1947 and attended Wayne State College before enlisting in the U. S. Army.  He served in Korea as a member of the U. S. Army Special Services Company.  He married Doris Dwinell in 1954 and they parented two children, Terry and Karen.  Doris passed away in 1981.   Bill married Dian Kirkpatrick Neill in 1991.

Bill retired from a career of public service in 1992.  During his 38-year career with the State of Nebraska, he served with the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Nebraska Dealer Licensing Board. 

He was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed trapping, hunting, and fishing.  He was a skilled woodworker and enjoyed gardening.  However, music was his favorite avocation.  Bill shared his talent as an accomplished guitarist throughout his lifetime and he enjoyed entertaining at parties, retirement centers, and nursing homes until his spinal cord injury in 2012.  Bill held continuous membership for over 63 years in the American Legion Post 136 and was a lifetime member of the Orchard Historical Society.

Bill is survived by his wife of over 26 years, Dian Edwards of Inman; son, Terry (Teri Ann) Edwards of Palmyra, Nebraska; daughter, Karen Edwards of West Jordan, Utah; stepdaughters, Christine Neill and Leah Chapman of Round Rock Texas; seven grandchildren, Tim Edwards, Tom Edwards, Kaley Norris, Kleat Norris, Hannah Chapman, Adam Chapman, and Azalea Chapman; and, many nieces and nephews.
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He was predeceased by his parents, Will and Mabel Edwards; Doris, his wife of 27 years; three brothers, George Edwards, Delos Edwards, and Art Edwards; and two sisters, Catherine Rose and Mildred Thelander.

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