Benjamin "Ralph" Edwards, 87, of Lake Bluff, passed away Thursday, June 6, 2013 at Lake Forest Hospital.
He was born Dec. 24, 1925 in Colorado Springs, CO, to the late William and Carrie (Turner) Edwards. He grew up in Pomona, CA and attended college there before being drafted by the U.S. Army. Ralph spent 23 years in the military and fought in three wars; WWII, the Korean War and Vietnam. Upon his retirement, he and his family settled in Illinois and he spent the next 27 years working as a civilian gunsmith at Fort Sheridan. His last duty before retirement was to help ready weapons for deployment to Desert Storm.
Ralph was a past Master of A.O. Fay Masonic lodge of Highland Park and Past President of the Lake County Shrine Club. He was also a member of the Lake Michigan Chapter of Sojourners, the Medinah Shrine temple and other Masonic organizations. Ralph's greatest enjoyment was spending time with his family and his dog, Mia.
Surviving are his wife of 60 years, Shirley Edwards of Lake Bluff; 3 children, Vicky (Dirk) Rasmussen of Wauconda, Sherry (David) McHone of Stevens Point, WI, Steven Edwards of Lake Bluff; 6 grandchildren, Elizabeth McHone, Tanner and Taylor Edwards, Kristen, Erik, and Emily Rasmussen. He was preceded in death by his son, Terry Edwards in 1960 and by his grandson, Ian McHone in 1988.
A visitation will be from 3 until the time of service at 4 p.m. Saturday, June 15, 2013 at First Presbyterian Church in Libertyville, 219 W. Maple Ave. Libertyville. A private interment will be at Wildwood Cemetery in Sheboygan, WI. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations to Shriners Hospitals for Children, 2211 N. Oak Park Ave. Chicago, IL 60707. Arrangements made by Burnett-Dane Funeral Home, For Info: (847)362-3009 or please sign the guestbook at www.burnettdane.com.
—Burnett-Dane Funeral Home provided this information.
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