Ledford, Edwin
LEDFORD, Edwin
Edwin Davis Ledford, 89, of Dunwoody, Georgia, died at home on September 12, 2021. The cause of death was cancer.
Ed had a long and wonderful life. He was born in Mobile, Alabama on July 17, 1932 and was adopted from an orphanage in Selma in 1933 by The Reverend and Mrs. H. Frank Ledford. As the son of a Methodist minister, Ed grew up in many small towns in northern Alabama, and as a teenager, went to Washington, DC as a Senate page under the patronage of Senator John Sparkman. He attended high school in Washington and Alabama from 1946 until his graduation from the Senate Page School in 1951. His high school diploma was signed by President Harry S Truman. More significantly, it was while he was in Washington that he discovered what would be his lifelong passion, golf.
Upon returning to Alabama, Ed attended Birmingham-Southern College until he was drafted. While serving in the US Army, he married Sylvia Johnson of Birmingham. After his discharge, he transferred to the University of Alabama where he completed his BS and earned a law degree.
He had a private law practice in Birmingham for several years, but due to his personal support of local civil rights issues, his client base declined, and he sought work with the Federal government. He joined the Small Business Administration of the U.S. Commerce Department. This work took him to Florida, where he did disaster relief after Hurricane Dora, and then to Atlanta, his home since the mid-1960's.
As a federal attorney he also worked for the Economic Development Agency and as a Senior Litigation Attorney for the Commerce Department in Washington, DC. In this role, he traveled the country from New York to California to Puerto Rico representing the government in bankruptcy cases resulting from defaults on government loans. He always packed his golf clubs.
After retiring from the Commerce Department and enjoying working at two fine metro-Atlanta golf courses, Ed returned to the law and became inhouse counsel for the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners. His work helped Forsyth transition from a small, rural county to a rapidly growing and prosperous community.
Ed played football and baseball in high school, went to college on a baseball scholarship, and was assigned to Special Services in the Army where he played baseball (catcher). In the off-season, he played in the band. In addition to the piano, Ed loved to play the bass, the banjo, and the French horn. He also loved to spend time in his workshop making things such as furniture, display cases and a mantel for his mountain cabin.
Ed is survived by his wife of thirty years, Kathy; his son Mark Ledford of Brookhaven, his daughter Andrea Wheeler (Andrew) of Roswell; grandchildren Jake, Sydney and Molly Wheeler, and a host of friends and in-laws.
There will be a Celebration of Life for Ed at Rivermont Golf Club in Johns Creek, Georgia, on August 6, 2022, from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a gift to Save the Children or your local Humane Society in Ed's memory.
