2 years ago, we lost my Father-in-law, and on the anniversary of his leaving, I thought I should repost the words I posted on a previous version of my site.
Me and Kevin in a restaurant several years ago.
Although fairly short of stature, Kevin Edwards was an absolute giant of a man, with a heart as big as his voice, and a personality to go with it.
Loving father of 6, doting grand-father of 21, and proud great-grand-father of 11 (at the time of writing – this is only going to go up dramatically!), as well as plenty of nephews and nieces, he was a man to whom family was everything.
A man who effortlessly charmed everyone who met him, he had a string of women willing to throw themselves at his feet, but only ever had eyes for Pam, his wife of 58 years, with whom he was completely besotted.
kevin and Pam on their wedding day.
Posessed of a fine (if largely untrained) tenor voice, he was equally at home leading the hymns at his church, or belting out the songs of his heroes, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and Elvis, his song often the first indication that he was nearby, usually entering a room long before the rest of him.
His sense of humour was legendary, an eclectic mix of dad-jokes and almost-but-not-quite ribald comments, many of which drew an exasperated “Kevin!” from his beloved Pam, usually followed by a giggle from her as he shot her a glance that could only be described as “naughty schoolboy grin”.
A typical photo of kevin.
In his younger days, he was a fine Rock-And-Roll dancer, with his preferred partner being his wife – in later life, he found himself confined to just watching, but actively encouraged his Grand-daughter, Melissa, to pursue her love of dance, and loved watching her perform.
When I married his eldest daughter, Louise, he was suffering all manner of health problems, and found walking to be difficult, usually accompanied by a lot of excruciating pain – but he wanted to show how much he respected me, by walking Louise down the aisle, without his cane. By the end, the pain was evident in his face, but so was the love and joy at knowing his daughter had found someone worthy of her and her children.
Kevin was one of two men I was proud to call Dad, and if I grow up to be half the man he was, I will be doing well.
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