Wales Dale Edwards

Dale was born May 17, 1946 in Greenville, SC. He was the 4th son of the late James Hoyt Edwards, Sr. and Estelle Irene Edwards, He spent his teen years in Whiteville, NC where he graduated from Whiteville High School. In 1967, after his first year in college, he enlisted in the US Army in Seneca, SC, and went on to officer training in Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. He was later deployed to both Germany and South Korea, where he met his wife, Katie. After his service in Korea, Dale returned to Seneca with his new wife and daughter to attend Clemson University where he graduated with honors in Electrical Engineering. He took his first engineering job at Harris Corporation in Palm Bay, Florida and lived on the Space Coast for many years where he enjoyed boating, fishing, and the beach life. In 2006 Dale finished his military service with the Army and retired with the rank of Lt. Colonel with the Florida National Guard/Reserves. At Harris he was awarded several patents, including a patent for an integrated circuit integral to the development of LCD displays. After 20+ years in Florida, Dale, his wife, and son moved to work for Advanced Micro Devices in Santa Clara, CA, and later with Global Foundries Corporation. Later in his career, Dale returned to North Carolina and lived in the Raleigh-Durham area to work for the Semiconductor Research Corporation. He traveled and consulted with universities across the country to award funding to support developing semiconductor research. Dale and Katie moved to the Oak Island area after retirement.

As much as Dale enjoyed his work, he thoroughly enjoyed his downtime. He was an amateur radio enthusiast known by the call sign N4BLA. He was an avid fisherman, boater and scuba diver. He had a love for many competitive sports, including chess, racquetball, softball, tennis, and golf. In his later years, he spent many hours shooting pool with friends both in Raleigh and Oak Island. Dale also made many friends playing in the Brunswick County Adult Softball league, where he was often known to pitch his team to victory. He will be missed by many friends across all walks of life. You could find him most afternoons tinkering out in his shop, chatting or having a beer with one of his neighbors.

Survivors include his wife, Sunae Kim "Katie" Edwards; two children, Stacey Edwards and Joshua Edwards; a granddaughter, Ruby Kammel; three brothers, James Hoyt Edwards, Jr., Carl T. Edwards, and Gerald Edwards. He was preceded in death by a brother, Wallace Edwards; and an infant sister.

A celebration of his life will be held at 12:00 pm on July 15, 2023 at First Baptist Church of Oak Island continued in the fellowship hall at 1:00 PM with food and drink. An additional graveside service for family will be held in Walhalla, SC.

Donations may be made in honor of Dale’s life at the lung cancer research foundation website setup in memoriam: http://participate.lcrf.org/goto/WalesDaleEdwards

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at https://bio.site/DaleEdwards for the Edwards family.

Peacock - Newnam & White Funeral and Cremation Service, Southport, North Carolina.