Elton Edwards

Elton Edwards, 89, of Friends Homes West, Greensboro, died Saturday, January 5, 2013. A local practicing attorney until his retirement, Edwards, son of Charles Henry Edwards and Lillie Estelle Thornton of Wayne County, NC, moved to Greensboro in 1949 to begin his law practice following his graduation from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and its law school. Over the years he practiced with Robert F. Moseley and with the firm of Edwards, Greeson, Weeks and Turner. He belonged to the American, North Carolina and Greensboro Bar Associations, as well as Phi Alpha Delta International Law Fraternity. Active in civic life, he belonged to Greensboro Kiwanis Club, of which he was a director, and the Greensboro Hardrock Coffee Club, of which he was President. A Mason, he belonged to Guilford Lodge 656, as well as Oasis Shrine. He was elected president of the Greensboro Jaycees in 1953 and a member of its senior organization, the Jaycee Oldtimers. He also served as a Trustee of Evergreens Healthcare System and as a member of SCORE, the Greensboro War Memorial Commission and the John Motley Morehead Commission which owned and restored Historic Blandwood Mansion. Edwards was a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives 1965-1969 and the North Carolina Senate 1969-1971 and 1983-1985 and of various state-wide organizations. He was the author and sponsor of the Bill to License Day Care Centers and the Bill for the North Carolina Zoo, of which our state is very proud. He served as a lobbyist for the city of Greensboro from 1986-1991 when he retired. He was a member of MENSA, Senior Investors, Inc., and Capital Investment Club. A World War II veteran, he was a retired Colonel of the United States Air Force, receiving the Legion of Merit medal. He was State President of the Reserve Officers Association and the Air Force Association. He was proud to have had the opportunity to take the Triad Flight of Honor trip. He was active in his church, and an elder, at First Presbyterian Church. Surviving the deceased are his wife, Jessie Macon Sapp Edwards, son E. Thornton Edwards, Jr., of Greensboro, daughter Ruth Macon Edwards Hines and her husband Jon W. Hines, grandchildren Jennifer Rhea Hines and Jon Michael Hines, of Sandy, Utah. His brothers Dallas N. Edwards of Vandalia, Ohio, and Charles Henry Edwards, Jr., MD of Clifton, New Jersey, predeceased him. A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, January 8, 2013 at 2 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church in Greensboro. The family will gather with friends in the Virginia Gilmer Room. A private interment will follow. Memorials may be made to Hospice and Palliative Care of Greensboro, 2500 Summit Ave., Greensboro NC 27405, or Campbell University, P.O. Box 116, Buies Creek, NC 27506