Edwin "Flash" Southall Roseberry

July 4, 1925 – October 13,2022 Former resident of Charlottesville Photographer, WWII Veteran, Environmental Health Specialist in Virginia and Hawaii, Classic Car aficionado, philatelist, and member of numerous service organizations including the Elks, Shriners, Masons, American Legion, and others, Edwin Roseberry passed away peacefully on October 13, 2022, in San Jose, California at the age of ninety-seven. He is survived by his younger brother Bill and wife Grace, son Ed and wife Michele, son David, stepdaughter Leigh Boger, grandchildren Craig, Kendra, Patrick Edwin, Shannon and Brianna, nieces Laura Schoonover, Susan Heartwell, and Dawn Roseberry, nephews Michael Roseberry and Mike Cady, and many great nephews and nieces. He is predeceased by his brother Bob, sister Caroline, son Kevin, grandson Scott, nephew Bob, and other family members not cited, but certainly not forgotten. Ed (aka Flash) developed his love of photography after his father gave him the family camera as he headed out to serve in Hawaii during WWII. Following his service, he re-entered the University of Virginia in 1946 and obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce in the class of 1949. It was during his studies that he met Mary Louise Sprengel. They married at the University of Virginia Chapel on September 2, 1949, and later had three boys, Ed Jr., David, and Kevin. Ed lost Mary Lou, to breast cancer in 1978 and in her memory commissioned a stained-glass window that is on display at the University of Virginia Chapel. In 1980 Ed married Alice Boger. They moved to Hawaii in 1985 to retire. After their divorce, Ed moved back to Charlottesville in 2001 where he lived until October 2020 when he moved to California to live with Ed Jr. and wife Michele, for his final years. In 1952 Ed won his first significant photo award at the 17th Annual Virginia Photographic Salon. Over the next forty-years he won thirty-four, first, second, third, and honorable mention awards. In 1986 the University of Virginia Alumni Association and Virginia Commission for the Arts published The Inward Eye a book containing a selection of 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s student social events at the University of Virginia. From 2010 to 2020, Ed and Steve Trumbull collaborated on and published several books using Ed’s photos, most notably, Flash. Published in 2016, it portrays Charlottesville and the University of Virginia during the mid-part of the 20th century. Steve and Ed also presented slideshows of Ed’s works to audiences at various Charlottesville venues from 2010 to 2020. In 2013 Ed donated approximately one hundred fifty thousand negatives and prints spanning the years from 1949 to 2013 as well as camera equipment to Special Collections at the University of Virginia Alderman Library. In 2014 the University of Virginia Alumni Association hosted the first comprehensive exhibit of Ed’s entire body of work, curated by local historian and author Coy Barefoot, an installation of over one hundred photos that was on display for well over a year, to rave reviews. Ed also collaborated with Coy Barefoot to produce a documentary film about his life and work that premiered in 2019 at Charlottesville’s Vinegar Hill Theatre. Following the film, Ed received a rousing standing ovation from the packed house. Ed’s photos have also appeared in a wide variety of books and magazines and remain on display in restaurants and businesses throughout Charlottesville. Even in his last year, Ed continued to take photographs with the assistance of his granddaughters. His photographic mastery and life’s work will remain a lasting memory for all. A memorial service will be held at 3pm on Sunday, December 4, 2022, at the University of Virginia Chapel in Charlottesville, VA.