Harold Edmonson

A memorial service will be held for Harold Edmonson, 86 of Roswell at 10 am, Monday, April 23, 2012 at Anderson Bethany Funeral Home Chapel with Captain Beau Perez of The Salvation Army officiating. Interment will follow at South Park Cemetery. Harold Willard Edmonson began life’s journey August 16, 1925 in Clayton Indiana, the son of Willard Franklin and Ruth Burns Edmonson. After attending Clayton High School he volunteered for the United States Navy in 1943. Following his training, he saw combat in the Pacific, serving on the USS Antietam as a signalman during World War II. After the end of the war, he returned home and graduated from Canterbury College in Danville, Indiana. He married Ava Villars on December 24, 1947. He came to the Southwest and was a teacher in Ganado, Arizona. He entered the FBI and served as a special agent before returning to college to earn his Masters in School Administration from Indiana University. He went to Santa Fe and was a teacher at the Allison James School. He returned to Indiana to live for a year on his parents’ farm. Then, he left for Cuttington College in Suacoco, Liberia, West Africa, where he was an instructor and dean. He returned to the United States and attended the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas. He was subsequently ordained an Episcopal priest and served in Gonzales and Rockport, Texas, before moving to Santa Fe in 1967. Several other stops followed in Las Vegas, New Mexico, El Paso, Texas, the Monument Valley, and his last parish in Farmington. He retired to Roswell in 1988. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Ava. He was preceded in death by his parents and his younger son, Jeffery Stephen Edmonson of Roswell. His eldest son Alan lives in Albuquerque with his wife, the former Bernadette Bustos. His daughter, Sarah Cieslik lives in Corpus Christi, Texas with husband, James. His grandchildren include Crystal Levonius and husband Jeff of Flower Mound, Texas, Amorette Miller and husband Justin of Flower Mound, Texas, Alan Edmonson, Jr. of Roswell and wife, the former Andrea Hedgeman, and Noland Edmonson of Las Cruces and wife, the former Gabriela Varela, and Hannah, Rebekah, and Abigail Cieslik of Corpus Christi, Texas. He is surrounded by the love of thirteen great-grandchildren. He was also preceded in death by his brother George who is survived by wife Elaine of Port Orchard, Washington. He is survived by his brother Larry and wife Cory of Pittsford, New York. Harold’s life was marked by many events and changes but two things were ever constant. First, his faith in God and lifelong service to others was his primary occupation. Second, his love of family was unwavering and his last thoughts, as expressed in his own words, were his love for his family and the blessing they were to him.

Harold Edmonson

August 16, 1925 - April 19, 2012