Edwin Coolidge Jarriel

After 91 years of laughter, generosity, and rendering wisdom and advice, Edwin Coolidge Jarriel died peacefully May 28, 2016 in his Macon home surrounded by beloved family members. A celebration of his life will be held Tuesday, May 31, 2016 at 11:00am at Parkway Assembly of God with Pastor Joe E. Williams, Jr. officiating. Burial will follow in Macon Memorial Park Cemetery. The family will greet friends Monday night from 6:00pm until 8:00pm at Macon Memorial Park Funeral Home.

Edwin was a member of our nation’s Greatest Generation. He was born in a small, yellow house in Collins, Georgia on June 9, 1924 and grew up on a farm just a few miles from the Ohoopee River during the Great Depression. After being drafted during WWII, Edwin served in the US Navy as an electrician aboard the USS Wesson (DE-184) in the Pacific and was present in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945 when Japan signed their surrender papers ending the war.

After his service, Edwin returned home and began courting the love of his life, Monteen Higgs. They married in 1948 and raised two children- Eddie and Angela.

Edwin worked at Robins Air Force Base for several years, working his way up the ladder to chief of the Production Control and Electronics Division before retiring in 1973.

IN 1965, Edwin, and his brother-in-law, Herman Lanier, opened AAA Trailer Hitch and U-Haul on Rocky Creek Rd. He ran the business for 46 years- even scooting under vehicles in his eighties to help with trailer hitch installation. Customers knew him as “Big Ed,” a fair, honest businessman who was always willing to discuss politics and other topics of the day from a rolling chair in his office.

He loved gardening and harvesting heaps of peas, beans, and squash from his small, deer-proof food plot and has a life-long love affair with Southern foods including greens, biscuits, friend chicken and fish, stewed tomatoes, steaming-hot cornbread, and anything and everything Monteen cooked up in the kitchen. He was happiest with a fishing rod in hand or surrounded by family at reunions as he shared stories while deep frying fat back in a big pot of bubbling grease. He was a 32nd degree Scottish Rite Mason and a lifetime member of Pine Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Tattnall County. He attended Parkway Assembly of God in Macon for over 50 years.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Hubbard Harrison and Ona Jarrard Jarriel; and infant child; and brothers, Archie, Gilbert, Robert, and Leon Jarriel.

He will be greatly missed by his wife of sixty-eight years, Monteen; his children, Eddie Jarriel (Denise), and Angela Jarriel Gregory (Jerry); his grandchildren, Tal Gregory (Monica) and Amanda “Mandi” Gregory; great grandchildren, Olivia and Landon; brother, Wallace Jarriel (Janice); sisters, Joyce Todd, Gloria Anderson, and Wanda Collins (Johnny); and a small army of nieces, nephews, neighbors, friends, and business associates who adored him. Long live the happy memories of Edwin his survivors will carry with them for the rest of their days.

In lieu of sorrow, do what Edwin spent his lifetime doing- spend time with the people you love most in the world, help others in need, grow a vegetable garden and share its bounty with your neighbors and friends, enjoy a delicious home-cooked meal, share a few stories, laugh often, and love deeply.

Visit www.maconmp.com to express condolences.

Macon Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery have charge of arrangements.