Dear gracEmail family,
It is with a heart of profound sadness and triumphant hope that I write to inform you that our precious Edward has been released from his mortal body and rests in the sheltering arms of His Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, whom he loved and served all his life. Saturday morning, November 25, 2017, God granted him the gift of an easy passing with his loved ones beside him.
We have been touched by the hundreds of comments we have already received, as word has spread, from so many whose lives have been blessed by him. Edward was a remarkable man whose gifts were many. A brilliant thinker who could engage any scholar on that level, a consummate professional writer who could pack more into three paragraphs than anyone I ever knew, a tender-hearted lover of poetry who regaled us all with Thanatopsis and Gray’s Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard (all stanzas!), and a man with a sweet grin and sense of humor which sometimes veered into intricate puns and corny jokes which he delighted in telling and re-telling to any willing listener. He was nonjudgmental, humble in spirit, kind in manner and as Jesus described Nathanael, “a man in whom there is no guile.” He cherished me for over 50 years, since our first Florida College days, delighted in our two wonderful children, and loved his six precious grandchildren who gave him great joy and hope for the future.
But most of all, he was a Jesus man, as he termed it, who loved God with all his heart, believed even through the most difficult of times and circumstances, and loved to spread the good news of God’s redeeming grace far and wide. He gave glory to God for every good thing in his life, aware that he was a sinner saved by grace, and prayed often for Jesus to come quickly. He was confident in his salvation through the blood of Jesus, and sure of Jesus’ triumphant return on that great Resurrection Day.
There will be two services for Edward – one graveside service in Franklin, Tennessee, Mt. Hope Cemetery, on Thursday, November 30, at 2:00 p.m., with visitation beforehand at Williamson Memorial Funeral Home at 12:00 noon and a memorial service on Saturday, December 2, at 2:00 p.m. at Bering Drive Church of Christ in Houston, Texas.
We have been grateful for your prayers through the years, and covet them now in this difficult time of loss. Edward has been so proud to meet many of you over the years and we have always referred to you as much more than just readers – you were his gracEmail family! Edward would be sure to add that his writings will live on through his website (https://edwardfudge.com) which we will continue to support. There is even an almost completed new book which we hope to finalize in the coming months! May God bless us as we all await that glorious day when the faith shall be sight and our reunions will be sweet.
Cordially,
Sara Faye