Obituary of Howard L. Edwards

Howard Lewis Edwards, age 83, died at Mercy Hospital in Iowa City on October 5, 2008 due to complications of Parkinson’s disease. Memorial services will be held at 1:00 p.m., Friday, October 10, 2008, at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses @ 2983 Northgate Drive, Iowa City. A private family graveside services will be held at the Oxford Cemetery. Online condolences may be sent for Howard’s family through the web @ www.gayandciha.com. Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service is caring for Howard’s family and his services. Howard was born August 30, 1925 in Iowa County to Lewis and Myrtle Edwards. He was a 1943 graduate of Oxford High School. He married Leona Zalesky on June 9, 1946. They farmed together first in Iowa County then moved to a farm in Johnson County, where they raised their family and resided for nearly 60 years. Besides his love of farming, he enjoyed fishing. He enjoyed teaching and sharing the word of God with others. Howard cherished the privilege of spending countless hours preaching God’s Word as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. For over 50 years he served as an Elder in the Iowa City congregation. He enjoyed traveling to nearby congregations to give public talks on various Bible topics. His greatest joy was his fulltime Kingdom preaching activity with his wife, Leona by his side. Howard’s family includes his wife, Leona; daughters and their husbands, JoAnn and Bob Guzman of Iowa City; and Jane and David Persinger of Washington, IA; six grandchildren, Gina Hayslett, Jonathan Guzman, Matthew Persinger, Anne Leyden, Amanda Runner, and Ryan Persinger. Howard was looking forward to the birth of his first great-grandson in February. Howard was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers, Donald and Merlyn Edwards. The family would like to extend a special thanks to the compassionate staff at Mercy Hospital that took outstanding care of Howard.