William Edwards Jr.

CAIRO, Ill. — William Elmer “Bill” Edwards Jr., 86, of Cairo was born April 12, 1929, and passed from this life Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016.

A devoted Christian, father, husband and teacher, Bill is survived by his daughter, Dr. Jackie Edwards-Henry of Starkville, Mississippi; his brother, Robert Edwards of Harrisburg, Illinois; four nephews; and two nieces.

Preceding him in death were his son-in-law, Dr. William Henry; his wife, Martha Chrestman Edwards; a sister, Edith Edwards Pennell of Appleton, Wisconsin; his mother, Mollie Monan Edwards; and his father, William Elmer Edwards Sr. of Cairo.

He lived most of his life in Cairo. Upon his graduation from Cairo High School, he joined the Army and served for two years in Panama.

He worked for Union Carbide in Kevil, Kentucky, following military service, and then attended Southern Illinois University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in education. He earned a master’s degree in education in 1970 from Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky. His first teaching position was in Tamaroa, Illinois, and his remaining teaching years were spent in Cairo from 1962 to 1978, where he taught junior-high science and high-school math and history.

After his retirement in 1978, he continued to substitute in various schools in Southern Illinois until 2008. His final years, 2012 to 2016, were spent as a resident of the Life Care Center in Cape Girardeau.

Visitation will be from 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesday at the McMikle Funeral Home in Charleston, Missouri.

The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the funeral home. The Rev. Dr. Larry Potts, pastor of the Mighty Rivers Regional Worship Center in Cairo, will officiate. Interment will be in Spencer Heights Cemetery at Mounds, Illinois.

Online condolences may be shared at www.mcmiklefuneralhome.com.