Jack Edwards obit

Funeral set for former Alabama congressman Jack Edwards

 

He was not on the list.

MOBILE, Ala. (WPMI) — Kay Ivey's office confirms former Alabama congressman Jack Edwards (Republican, 1965-1985) has passed away at the age of 91.

Jack Edwards Airport in Gulf Shores was named in his honor upon its opening in 1977.

Edwards was succeeded by Sonny Callahan.

Funeral services for Edwards will take place Wednesday, Oct 2 at 2:30 p.m. at Trinity Presbyterian Church, located at 545 S. Mobile Street in Fairhope.

Visitation will begin at 1 p.m.

William Jackson Edwards (September 20, 1928 – September 27, 2019) was an Alabama lawyer and politician who represented the 1st Congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1965 to 1985. A Republican, Edwards first won election to Congress in 1964, one of five Republicans elected to the House from Alabama amid Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater's sweep of the state in that year's presidential election.

During Ronald Reagan's presidency, Edwards became the vice chairman of the Republican leadership and was a member of the United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. He oversaw the funding for the rebuilding efforts of Alabama's Dauphin Island Bridge in 1979.

William Jackson Edwards III was born near Birmingham, Alabama in 1928. His father, William Jackson Edwards Jr., had grown up in Decatur, Alabama and worked for the Rural Electrification Administration at various jobs and receiving promotions until he headed the engineering department. Young Jack also knew and shared his formal name with his long-lived grandfather, William Jackson Edwards. He had a sister, Julia Caroline Edwards Brock, and grew up in Homewood, Alabama during the Great Depression. His great-grandfather was Perry Jackson Edwards (1847–1919) of Decatur, Alabama (nicknamed "Captain Jack"), who rose to become chief inspector of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. Young Jack also knew his long-lived great uncle Perry Jackson Edwards. When young Jack was 17, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps and served until 1951 (as the Korean War began). His great-great-grandfather, William F. Aldrich, had been the last Republican congressman from the state, serving (with a few months' break) from 1896 to 1901.