Gerald “Gerry” Lee Edwards was born March 14, 1936, in Battle Ground, Washington. He died on Sept. 4, 2023, at his home in Vancouver, Washington, surrounded by family.
Gerry grew up in Battle Ground and attended Battle Ground High School. Following graduation, he served in the U.S. Coast Guard active reserves for eight years, attended college and began working for the Washington State Department of Transportation as a civil engineer. He retired from WSDOT after more than 30 years, finishing his career in the position of southwest region construction engineer. One of the most rewarding projects he managed was the rebuilding of state Route 504, also known as the Spirit Lake Memorial Highway, leading up to Mount St. Helens. Following retirement, Gerry worked at Kiewit Company, traveling all over for various projects until retiring permanently a few years later.
Gerry had a great sense of humor and loved his family deeply. He was very generous, rarely saying no to helping someone. Gerry loved water sports, traveling, movies, NASCAR, football, theater, building and remodeling his homes, going on drives up to the mountains and walking the many dogs he had over the years. But his favorite place was his garage, where he spent much of his spare time fixing and rebuilding cars and working on projects.
Gerry is survived by his wife of 35 years, Faye Jenkins- Edwards; four daughters, Lisa Markegard (Rod), Geri Sue Edwards, Christine Edwards and Stacie Jenkins Townsend (Teddy); seven grandchildren, Rilea Brossard-Markegard (Casey), Geoff Wallace (Kate Summerhill), Molly Wallace Jenkins (Mikey), Keith Markegard (Ashley), Madeleine Townsend, Benjamin Townsend and Sophia Townsend; five great-grandchildren, including Aubri Markegard, Chiles Brossard- Markegard, Grayson Markegard, Ranger Brossard-Markegard and Kooper Markegard.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Ninion and Hedwig (Swiergula) Edwards; his sister, Dorothy Sakrison; his brother, James Edwards; his son-in-law Rod Markegard; and his best friend and cousin, Bill Edwards.
There will be a celebration of life at 2 p.m. Sept. 30 at the Red Cross building at Fort Vancouver Historic Reserve, 605 Barnes Road, Vancouver, WA, 98660. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his honor to the Humane Society of Southwest Washington at www.southwesthumane.org.
