Funeral service for Elvis "Butch" Edwards will be 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, August 7, 2019 at First Baptist Church, Lawton, with Dr. Patrick Latham, Pastor and Rev. Tony Christie, Associate Pastor officiating.

Burial with military honors will follow in Sunset Memorial Gardens under the direction of Becker-Rabon Funeral Home.

The family will greet friends from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home.

Elvis "Butch" Edwards, age 78, passed away Saturday, August 3, 2019 in Oklahoma City.  He was born January 17, 1941 in Anna, Texas to Elvis Lee "Shorty" and Joy Bernice (Keith) Edwards. The family moved to Davidson, Oklahoma in 1941 soon after Pearl Harbor working as sharecroppers.

Butch graduated from Davidson High School in 1959 and from Panhandle A & M, now Panhandle State University, with a B.S. in math in 1963. He earned a Master's degree in counseling from Southwestern State University and an administrator's certification from the University of Oklahoma.

He married Betty Lou Davis on August 24, 1963 in Goodwell, Oklahoma. Following college, Butch served as a 2LT in the United States Army at Fort Sill from 1964 to 1966 and later as a company commander in the Lawton reserve unit.

He was employed by Lawton Public Schools from 1966 to 1994. Throughout his career he served in the following positions: Eisenhower High School math teach from 1966-1968, Eisenhower Junior High coach/math teacher from 1968-1973, Assistant principal/counselor at Tomlinson Junior High from 1973-1990, principal at Tomlinson Junior High from 1985-1990, and finally as principal at Central Junior High from 1990-1994. Following his work for the public school system Butch served as an administrator, teacher and coach at Lawton Christian School from 1994-2004 and as a Cameron University evaluator of entry year teachers from 2004-2006.

Butch served on the board of directors for Southwest Oklahoma Federal Credit Union for 12 years, the executive committee of the Comanche County Retired Educators Association and he was a member of First Baptist Church where he served as a deacon. He volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, the First Baptist Church Builders where he helped construct a church in Colorado, participating in debris removal in New Orleans, Louisiana and training for the Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief Team.

Butch loved golf, baseball, playing his guitar and yard work.

He is survived by his wife of over 55 years of the home, two very loved daughters, Debra Lou Stone and husband Jeff of Edmond, Michelle Lee Edwards of Cordova, Tennessee, two very special granddaughters, Jessica LeeAnn Stone of Anadarko and Jacqueline Marie Stone of Edmond, two sisters, Joy Janette Edwards and husband Gordon of Jenks, Shirley Kay Meece and husband Jerry of Gainesville, Texas, a brother-in-law, Ernest Davis and wife Lavenia of Protection, Kansas, and a sister-in-law, Katheryn Edwards of Geneva, Illinois.

Butch was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers, Lanny Jay Edwards and Dennis Darell Edwards.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Parkinson's Foundation of Oklahoma, 720 W. Wilshire Blvd, Suite 109, Oklahoma City, OK 73116, the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, P.O. Box 4464, Houston, TX 77210-4464, and the First Baptist Church Baptist Builders, 501 SW B Ave., Lawton, OK 73502.