Edward Meyer Stickell

Edward Meyer Stickell was found dead in his home by his friends on the afternoon of Sunday, January 21st, 2018. For seasons of his life having a home, having friends, or even being found was not something he could count on, but God, in his goodness, gave Ed these things. In the last month and a half of his life, Ed lived in a house that he could call his own, with a fridge that usually had enough food, where he could smoke inside, where he could stay warm when it was cold, and where he was visited by friends most days of the week.

Ed was born on June 30, 1959. He lived in various places, including Vero Beach, Indian River, and Jacksonville, Florida, McKinney and Murray, Kentucky, and Harriman and Knoxville, Tennessee.

For Ed each day was a new chance to talk to his friends. He spent much of his time calling the people he cared about, sometimes three or four times in a day. Whether it was wishing them a good morning, letting them know he was thinking of them, making a joke about the weather, or asking why another friend wasn’t answering their phone, his frequent calls showed how much he loved the people around him.

Throughout his life, Ed made more than his share of mistakes, but on August 13th, 2017 Ed was baptized into a new way of life through Christ Jesus. He was slowly working to right the wrongs in his past and uproot the habits that led to them. Those close to him saw the wheelchair-bound, 58-year-old man learning to walk and taking his first steps on a path towards righteousness.

Ed is survived by many forms of family: some bound by blood, some by choice, and some by the blood of Christ. Among these are his daughter Heather Evans, his brother Bernie Stickell, Wade Sheldon and Nicole Hurst whom he considered family, and his brothers and sisters at Grace and Peace Church in Knoxville, Tennessee.