Luke Patrick (Pat) Edwards, age 77, of Olathe, Kansas passed away on December 10, 2018. A memorial service celebrating his life and departure to Heaven will be held on December 15, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. at Christ Community Church of the Nazarene, 21385 College Blvd. in Olathe.
Pat was born March 14, 1941 in Garden City, Kansas to John DeWitt Edwards and Anna Elizabeth Halloran Edwards. On August 7, 1965, he married Sharon Lee Close in Kingsdown, Kansas.
Pat was a 1959 graduate of Lakin High School in Lakin, Kansas. He attended Fort Hays State University, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English with certification in Library Science. Pat taught high school English in Quinter, Kansas from 1966 – 1967 and in Scott City, Kansas from 1967 – 1985. He was a high school librarian in Garden City, Kansas from 1985 – 2006 before retiring to Olathe. During his teaching and library career, Pat served as a delegate to the Kansas National Education Association.
Pat was an avid outdoor enthusiast and enjoyed visiting national parks with his family, particularly in the American West. Pat was especially fond of Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, where he and his family spent many vacations enjoying camping, hiking, and photography. At his request, his ashes will be taken there.
Pat was a staunch proponent of education and reading and passed that along to his children and grandchildren. A voracious reader, Pat enjoyed a wide variety of literature, his favorite being science fiction, a genre in which he not only read extensively, but also authored a book entitled “Skip Back Jack.”
In retirement, Pat enjoyed spending time with his family and engaging as a fan of his grandchildren’s sports, music, school, and church activities and competitions. Pat could also be found with a hammer, saw, or paintbrush improving his own home or helping his children with theirs. He never missed an opportunity for a good trivia game. With Sharon, he enjoyed traveling, regularly socialized with friends at the local YMCA, and was an active member of their local church. Pat enjoyed cheering for the Kansas City Royals, the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Kansas Jayhawks. Pat maintained these activities with his family - including a trip to Yellowstone National Park as well as sports and Bible quizzing with his grandchildren - right up until a few weeks before cancer ended his life.
Pat was preceded in death by his parents, his brother John Michael Edwards, his brother George Douglas Edwards, and his sister Cynthia Suzanne Edwards Gunter.
Pat is survived by his wife Sharon; his son Sean Patrick Edwards and wife Jessica Janeen Richman-Edwards; his daughter Heather Lynn Edwards; his grandchildren Dillan Lee Powers, Darian Lynn Powers, Luke Patrick Edwards, Liam Allen Edwards, Colin Christian Edwards, and Lena Grace Kingsley, all of Olathe; his sister Margaret Kathleen Klenke and husband James Richard Klenke and their family of Whitewater, Kansas; his brother Thomas Timothy Edwards and wife Delores Nadine Yardley Edwards and their family of Lakin; and the families of his siblings who predeceased him.
Memorial contributions may be made to Christ Community Church of the Nazarene or to the National Parks Conservation Association
