David W. Rev. Edmunds

Rev. David W. Edmunds came to the Little Church as an associate pastor to Rev. R. Paul Soupiset in November of 1963. In 1968 after the death of Rev. Soupiset, he became pastor. In 1972 he was married to the former Cleo Edwards of Gonzales, Texas, and they served together until recently, when ill health forced him to retire. He was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and attended school in Kansas and Colorado before graduating from Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas, Texas. In 1940 he graduated with Honors from The University of Texas with a B.A. in Geology. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, working in photographic intelligence roles. Later, he taught school at the Schreiner Institute, Kerrville, Texas, from 1946-1948. In 1948-1949 he felt the call to the ministry as he worked for the downtown Trinity University Guidance Center as a vocational counselor. In 1951, he graduated from the University of California with an M.A. in Educational Psychology and also a B.D. from the Starr King School for the Ministry. He pastored churches in Boston, Massachusetts, and in Sydney, Australia. Upon returning to the U.S. he joined the Congregational Church and in 1962-1963, Rev. Edmunds was the Protestant Chaplain aboard the SS Hope on the medical teaching mission to the University of Trujillo in Peru, South America. He also studied at Colorado State University, the University of Michigan Law School and the Harvard Divinity School. Commenting one time to a writer about the ministry of the church, Rev. Edmunds said: "Most of the people who pass through our offices need encouragement to be "born again" and to have faith in the power of prayer in their lives. They also need the physical food for their bodies, which we give them without a lot of red tape." Rev. Edmunds believed that "With God nothing shall be impossible" St. Luke 1:37. In 1988, Rev. Edmunds was honored by Charisma Magazine as one of the Outstanding Pastors in America. In 1988 he and Cleo both received a citation from Mayor Henry Cisneros and the City of San Antonio for Exemplary Service. Rev. Edmunds was preceded in death by his father, Raymond Swezey Edmunds, Sr.; mother, Katherine Clopton Doyle Edmunds; sister, Katherine Doyle Edmunds Kurie; brother, Raymond Swezey Edmunds, Jr.; sister-in-law, Dorothy Hodges Edmunds, and nephew, Kenneth Edmunds. He is survived by his wife, Cleo Edwards Edmunds; daughter, Connie Jean Miller and son-in-law, Robert Wayne Miller; grandsons, James Robert "J.R." Miller and John Wayne "J.W." Miller; nephew, Andrew "Andy" and Judy Kurie; nieces, Linda Ellen Edmunds and Jerry McKnight, Nancy Gayle Edmunds and Bryan Jorgensen; great nephew, Trey McKnight; great niece, Lindsey McKnight; and great nephew, Keith Jorgensen.In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Little Church of La Villita, 508 Villita, San Antonio, TX 78205.