Billy Joe Edwards was born on February 6, 1934 in Van Buren, Arkansas, and passed away in Oklahoma City on February 16, 2021 with family by his side, B.J. as he was known to his family and friends. B.J. served in the United States Air Force, and finished his career at the Federal Aviation Administration, with forty-one years and nine months of service to his credit.

He is survived by his wife Eva Nell Edwards; his two sisters Nancy Woods and Patsey Whitehead; his son Lynn and his wife Brenda Edwards; his daughter Denise and her husband Ed Lemmings; his grandsons Kelly Edwards, Ricky McLaughlin, Brian McLaughlin, Paul McLaughin, and Carson Taylor; his granddaughters Nicole Galvan and Tiffany Anderson; 7 great-grandchildren; and Yoshi Kobayashi who knew B.J. as her American dad and grandfather to her two daughters.