The Skamania County Pioneer, Stevenson, WA., November 26, 1926, page __
REV. EDWARDS' FATHER DIES
Evan S. Edwards, father of the Rev. Thomas Edwards, pastor
of the Catholic parish of Goldendale, which includes the Stevenson and White
Salmon sections, died Friday morning, November 19, 1926, after a gradual
decline due to excessive activity throughout a life extending beyond three
score and ten, hastened by grief over the death of his beloved wife last
February.
He was born December 17, 1851, at Pewaukee, Wisconsin,
the youngest of five children raised to maturity, three boys and two girls,
but one of whom survived, Mrs. Mary Passolt, Pewaukee, Wisconsin. His parents
left Wales in the 30's and finally settled upon a homestead in the virgin
wilderness which was later to become known for its prosperity and natural
beauty. He remained on the farm until shortly after the close of the Civil
War, when the long looked for opportunity to enter city life enabled him
to leave. He became a clerk in a store in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and seemed
to be at home throughout his life in the sale of men's furnishings, though
at various times he entered into business for himself in the grocery, crockery
and restaurant lines, with modest success. In 1873 he married Katherine Cecelia
Regan, and they continued to reside in Waukesha for some years, afterwards
in Milwaukee, Omaha and Chicago. But two of the four children born to them
all boys, reaching maturity, the other surviving son, Evan W. Edwards, residing
in Chicago. It was not long after his youngest son heard the call of the
West that he left Chicago, and for the past eighteen years lived in Spokane,
Seattle, Portland, Astoria, Kalama, Kelso and Goldendale, where he came into
1923, after a serious physical breakdown, to stay with his wife and son at
the parochial residence. He was a loving husband and father, a trusting steadfast
friend even to the detriment of his own welfare at times, for all were not
worthy of the confidence proposed in them. He was a tireless worker, a human
dynamo, whether he labored for himself or for others, shrewd in business
dealings, though strictly honest.
Wherever he said he sought the widest acquaintance, and
was liked by those he met for his truly friendly well-wishing disposition
and the humorous trend of thought and speech which animated the discussion
of lively topics of the times, in which he wished always to be up-to-date.
He loved Goldendale best of all, its people, the Church, and the family life
which was of such short duration. The loss of his wife was to him a great
tragedy, though he looked forward with faith to the fulfillment of that compact
which they had made shortly before her death: "If I go first I'll wait for
you; if you go first you'll wait for me." May his earnest wish be granted
is the prayer of his many friends and relatives. The Funeral will be held
Tuesday, November 30th, at 10:00 A.M. from the Holy Trinity Catholic Church,
Goldendale, with Solemn Requiem High Mass. Interment will be in the Catholic
cemetery near Goldendale, where he wished to be placed beside his wife.
The Goldendale Sentinel, Goldendale, WA., December 2, 1926, page 2
"Local News"
Funeral services of Evan S. Edwards, who died November 19, 1926, were held from Hold Trinity Catholic church in Goldendale Tuesday forenoon, followed by interment in the Catholic cemetery near Goldendale. Mr. Edwards was the father of Rev. Thomas A. Edwards, pastor of the Catholic Parish of Goldendale.
The Goldendale Sentinel, Goldendale, WA., December 25, 1926, page 3
"Local News"
Evan S. Edwards, 76, who for three years had made his home with his son, Father Thomas A. Edwards, of Goldendale, died at the St. Joseph hospital in Vancouver, last Friday, where he had been confined for some time Two sons, Father Edwards and E.W. Edwards of Chicago, and one sister, Mrs. Mary Bassolt, of Wisconsin, survive. Funeral services will be held in Goldendale next Tuesday, and burial made in the Catholic cemetery. An obituary will follow.
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© Jeffrey L. Elmer