Gordon W. Edwards, Jr., passed away on Wednesday, May 1, 2019 at the age of 75 after a short battle with cancer.

He was born in Pensacola, FL in 1943 at the old Sacred Heart Hospital. He was a direct descendant of early Pensacola pioneer Mariana Pingrow Bonifay. Gordon attended and graduated from Pensacola Catholic High School. During high school, he and his best friend, Lou Brown operated Marine Life Unlimited scuba diving to collect saltwater tropical fish species and selling them to number of aquariums around the United States. He married his high school sweetheart, Dottie Flynn, and was a loving husband for nearly 55 years. He studied engineering at Pensacola Junior College before enlisting in the United States Coast Guard Reserves serving as a Yeoman during the Vietnam War. During that time, he was selected to represent the United States Coast Guard in Ceremonial Honor Guard for General Douglas McArthur's funeral in 1964. After the war, he returned to run his family business Edwards Plumbing Company. He later opened his own business Edwards Glazing and American National Plastics. He was a self taught artist winning a number awards in Art Shows for his acrylic and oil paintings. He also won many local tournaments in archery, bowling and tennis. He enjoyed assisting with coaching his son's T-ball teams, hunting, spearfishing, and sailing. He had a passion for history and story telling and was an avid animal lover. He was a member of the Cathedral of Sacred Heart.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Gordon W. Edwards, Sr. and Marion Bonifay Edwards; uncles, Raymond Edwards and T. C. Edwards; aunts, Laverna Edwards Tyra, Dorothy Edwards Fields; uncles, Mont Bonifay, Hubert Bonifay, Cliff Bonifay, Bill Bonifay, Clem Bonifay and Jerry Bonifay.

Gordon is survived by his wife of 55 years, Dottie Edwards of Pensacola; daughter, Gina Davis (Jeff) of Pensacola; sons, Gordon Edwards, III, Sean Edwards both of Pensacola; five grandchildren, Kristina Davis Cobb (Chris), Alecia Davis Patterson (Chris), Adam Davis, Lindsay Davis and Chelsea Edwards all of Pensacola; uncle, Doug Bonifay (Dottie) of Gulf Breeze; three beloved dogs, Remington, Brandy and Dixie.

Visitation will be 5:00pm until a Celebration of Life Service at 6:00pm Monday, May 6, 2019 at Harper-Morris Memorial Chapel, with Monsignor Luke Hunt, celebrant.

Honorary Pallbearers will be Chris Cobb, Chris Patterson, Adam Davis, Marc Bonifay, Fred Armour, Rick Edwards, Vic Strozier, Col. Brian Kerl, USMC (ret), Mark Roche and Dave Jones.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to: Pensacola Humane Society, 5 N. Q St., Pensacola, FL 32505; or Hotel for Dogs and Cats Rescue and Adoption Center, 4110 Creighton Rd., Pensacola, FL 32504.

A special thank you to Dr. William H. Langhorne, Jr., MD, Robert N. Heath, Jr., and Dr. Gary Gotthelf and staff.