Edward Rex Easterly

Edward Rex Easterly, Jr. passed away Tuesday morning, November 19, 2025, at the age of 89. Rex was born on February 4, 1936 in Murphysboro, Illinois. His parents were the late Edward Rex and Ethel Jeanette (Jagermann) Easterly.

From an early age, Rex learned to be resourceful and handy. He helped his father build the simple family home in Murphysboro. He took care of his two younger sisters when his mom was unable and helped his mother crochet flowers and doilies which she sold. His first job was peddling eggs from the family chickens which he carried in his wagon and later delivered newspapers on bike. Rex was baptized and confirmed by the Lutheran church in Murphysboro. At age 15 he drove himself to the “DMV” to get his license. As a teenager, he worked at the local grocery store, played basketball, and enjoyed playing the guitar and singing. The band he played in hosted a radio show and they entertained plenty a civic group and bar patrons before he graduated from Murphysboro Township High School in 1955.

Rex joined the US Army after high school and was stationed at Ft. Bliss in El Paso, TX over 1,000 miles from home. During his time in the army, he met a mountain lion and her two cubs while retrieving missile wreckage at White Sands Missile Range, NM and tested military equipment at Fort Churchill in Manitoba, Canada. Being too cold in Canada, the army moved testing to a cold chamber at Elgin Air Force Base in Ft. Walton Beach, FL where Rex had the privilege of creating snow for the children on base. He monitored radar blips for long range missile threats and rode in a fighter pilot’s lap to deliver a briefcase to Washington. When in El Paso, on the weekends he made side money milking rattlesnakes and hanging ceiling tiles in new homes. And he didn’t hesitate to drive non-stop to Murphysboro for a weekend family visit.

After serving in the army, Rex moved back to Illinois and began working for Sangamo Electric in Springfield. The company sent him south in the 1960’s to work at their plant in Pickens, SC where the electricity was cheaper. There he met the love of his life, Jennie Lee Hendricks and the couple married on February 23, 1963.

Rex built their first home in Pickens on Belle Shoals Road; however, before moving in, Sangamo transferred him to New Jersey. He sold that house, but in less than a year the company moved him back to Pickens! This time Rex bought land on Edinburgh Road and hired someone else to build his home.

He gave up bowling for the company team to join the choir at Pickens First Baptist Church. He sang bass in the choir and in quartets. He was the bride in the womanless wedding, carried the cross for Jesus in the “Seven Last Words” cantata, taught Sunday School, and served as a deacon. In the 70’s he made custom curtains as a side job. He kept a manicured lawn adorned with beautiful azaleas and dogwoods using bark from the sawmill before mulching was a thing. He played the piano, the fiddle, the guitar, and the harmonica. He loved to grocery shop for bargains and made the best chicken and dumplings ever! He spent hours solving Sudoku puzzles. He and Jennie joined Easley First Baptist Church in the 1990’s where they faithfully attended Bible study and worship. Rex sang in the Sanctuary Choir and thoroughly enjoyed singing with the Heartsong Choir.

In 2016, Jennie’s Alzheimer’s required more attention, so Rex retired from paid work. He took care of her at home until her death in January 2020 and he survived the beginning months of the pandemic social distancing alone. In 2023 he moved to the mountains to live with his daughter and son-in-law, Tonya and Jeffrey. He was an active member of Cullowhee Baptist Church where he faithfully attended Bible study and worship. Although he no longer was able to climb into the choir loft to stand with the choir on Sundays, he rehearsed every week and joined in from the second row.

Rex loved music. He prayed for all of us. He had a kind and generous heart. He was smart and wise. He trusted God’s ideas more than his own which made him patient and content in all things. Right after he was born, his mother saw an angel at the foot of her bed. God’s comfort and affirmation the angel brought her that day multiplied through Rex’s life among us.

Rex was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Jennie, an older half-brother, Fred Eugene Adams and younger sisters, Delores Jean Moritz and Shirley Dean Rhalfs. He is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Tonya and Jeffrey Vickery; two granddaughters, Elizabeth Vickery-Lewis and Ally Vickery Hawkins for whom he had the honor of “giving in marriage” to Elliott and AJ, respectively; his chosen family, Reid and Betty Ann (Cooper) Black, James Black, Maria Grace Edwards, and Elijah James Black; and 17 nieces and nephews and their families.

Donations in his memory may be sent to Cullowhee Baptist Church, PO Box 37, Cullowhee, NC 28723.

Visitation will be held at Dillard Funeral Home, located at 2402 Gentry Memorial Hwy, Pickens, SC, on November 24, 2025, from 1:00 pm to 1:45 pm. The funeral service will follow at the same location, beginning at 2:00 pm.

A committal service will take place at Hillcrest Memorial Park, located at 2410 Gentry Memorial Hwy, Pickens, SC, following services at Dillard.