Arthur L. Edwards

Lab scientist and retiree Arthur L. Edwards died June 15. He was 79.

Born Feb. 24, 1933, in Sacramento to Willard and Oleta Edwards, he graduated from high school in Honolulu, Hawaii at age 16. He was an accomplished ukulele player.

He married Adele Paaso in 1953. He graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle in June 1954 with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering. He served in the U.S. Navy for three years, and then completed his master's degree and Ph.D. in chemical engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Edwards began working at the Lab in 1960, retiring after a 34-year career in chemistry, theoretical physics and computational physics.

His hobby and passion was bird watching. He birded for many years and instilled a love of nature in his children. He also was an avid bridge player.

Edwards is survived by his wife of 58 years, Adele; his children, David and Susan Edwards, Lisa and Bart Clowdus, Lori and Dave Morris, and Karen and Gary Ramirez; grandchildren, Rachel Edwards, Sierra Rhodes and Kessler and Kylie Ramirez; and his sister-in-law, Laura Brown.

A celebration of life will be held for friends and family June 23 from 3 to 5 p.m. at 1523 Carnelian Lane in Livermore. Dress will be casual, with Hawaiian shirts preferred, in memory of Edwards' love of Hawaii.