Rick Edwards of Marysville says his grandfather is still flying, watching over everyone from above.
“I love you, Grandpa,” Edwards said. “And miss you greatly.”
His grandfather, Hubert “Hugh” Edwards, 69, died of lung cancer June 26.
Edward’s Cessna 310 is parked in the hangar next door to his home at Frontier AirPark in Lake Stevens. It’s the kind of place where everyone knows your name and the kind of airplane you fly.
Neighbors there are comforting his wife of almost 20 years, Carol Edwards, who’s also a pilot.
“He was everyone’s friend,” Carol Edwards said. “He was a guy everybody loved.”
They bought a fixer-upper home at the AirPark in 1995. Edwards remodeled the home and built a hangar next door. Granddaughter Cris Edwards said she went on a garden tour at the AirPark. Homeowners opened their yard so folks could see landscaping ideas.
“I remember that Grandpa and Carol had really done some fantastic things with their property by this time,” Edwards said. “They had some beautiful blossoms and wonderful landscaping and had actually created some holes to golf on their property.”
That day, Edwards was delighted to share the results of his efforts.
“He was so jovial that afternoon. He gave everyone big hugs or nice, hearty handshakes. He always listened to what everyone had to say before replying. He was so proud of his home and yard and delighted to share it with his neighbors, friends and family.”
Born in a two-room shack in Newmarket, Ala., he was the second of seven children.
The family worked as sharecroppers and he had to drop out of school in the sixth grade to help his parents. As the oldest son, he learned to can, sew and garden. They moved to Elora, Tenn., in the 1940s where his surviving brothers and sisters still live.
In the hills and hollows, Edwards learned to play the guitar and aspired to play like his favorite singer, Johnny Cash.
While serving in the Navy, the young man came to Bremerton on the USS Kearsarge aircraft carrier.
In 1956, he met Marlene Weaver while “cruisin’ Colby.” They married and had sons Rick and Randy. After he left the Navy he went to work for Simpson Paper Company for 12 years.
In 1968 he opened his first business, a gas station on Broadway where he was the chief mechanic. In 1971, he bought S&M Auto Supply on Broadway, which included a machine shop.
“S&M Auto Supply thrived for nearly 30 years, and during that time, he met and befriended a multitude of Everett residents,” Carol Edwards said. “In 1999 Hugh decided to retire, and sold the business to his sons.”
Her boss always gave folks the benefit of the doubt, said employee Kathy Eaton. She went to work at S&M in 1986.
“He was easy to work for,” Eaton said. “He was the kind of person who likes everyone, unless they did him wrong.”
Edwards earned his pilot’s license, bought a used Piper Tri-Pacer at the Arlington Airport, then flew to Tennessee for the first of many trips.
Edwards loved dining at Anthony’s HomePort restaurant, improving his property, wearing jeans and T-shirts, driving his tractor and caring for Pomeranians.
“He could fix anything,” his wife said. “He was a humble, quiet man. He gave everything to everyone.”
At a family gathering, Hugh Edwards pulled a pocketknife from his jeans to open a bottle of wine, his granddaughter said.
“It was kind of surreal, like what grandpa doesn’t have a pocketknife, right?” Cris Edwards said. “He had all of the right stuff on the knife to open that bottle of wine, and needless to say, I now know how to do it.”
The best part of that experience, she said, was that he delighted in teaching her the way to do it. He was never impatient or hasty, she added.
“He was always there for people who needed help,” said his grandson Rick Edwards. “I always looked up to him for the hard work he did in his life. It’s good to know he is in a great place now.”
Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451 or oharran@heraldnet.com.
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