Marvin R. Edwards, 96, born in New York City on June 29, 1921 to Albert H. and Blanche G. Edwards, passed away peacefully on February 10, 2018. Marvin spent his entire life fighting for justice -- first in the air over Europe and then for 70 years in his adopted hometown of Jacksonville. During WWII, Marvin flew missions with the OSS, the forerunner of the CIA, often crossing into Germany and occupied France at night to drop spies and communicate with resistance fighters. The information gathered included reports that changed the course of the war and earned Marvin France’s highest recognition, a Chevalier in the Legion of Honor. The US government voted last year to award his unit a Congressional gold medal. In 2017, he wrote a book about his WWII experiences entitled, “Now It Can Be Told: Stories of the OSS.” Oral histories he recorded are in the archive of the Library of Congress and the WWII Museum in New Orleans. With the cessation of hostilities, Marvin returned to complete his education at NYU, then joined his family, who had moved to Jacksonville. Teaching himself the essentials of stock trading, Marvin became a highly successful investment counselor and developed a forecasting approach he called “Politinomics,” earning praise from BusinessWeek in 1974 as one of the “very few exceptions to the dismal performance” of other economists in predicting the recession. Marvin served as President of the Jacksonville Financial Analysts Society (now CFA Society) and the Economic Roundtable, having co-founded the latter.
Marvin’s true passion was fighting for the underdog, whether literally (he arranged a Humane Society fundraiser with the TODAY Show’s chimp mascot J. Fred Muggs before 10,000 fans.), or more broadly, by championing underfunded public schools and opposing cronyism and corruption in local and state government. With regular columns in Folio Weekly and elsewhere, Marvin exposed abuses of taxpayer interests and a lack of transparency on major civic projects. His stories led to national media attention, including an ABC News special report. Even those targeted by his stinging editorials recognized his integrity and the City of Jacksonville Ethics Commission awarded Marvin its first citation for Citizen Excellence in Ethics. Marvin’s other abiding interest was music, fostered in his youth by attendance at a concert at the Apollo Theater, featuring a then 17-year-old Ella Fitzgerald.
For all his accomplishments, his family viewed his greatest success as providing a warm and loving home, filled with laughter, encouragement and occasional lectures on the importance of education and the dangers of procrastination. He was a lover of history and coffee ice cream, a lifetime platinum level Marriott member, a collector of books (more than 3,000), and an inveterate punster.
Marvin is survived by his loving wife of over 62 years, Helene Edwards; his children, Jeffrey (Mary), Douglas (Kristen), and Carolyn (Dan); grandchildren, Lauren, David, Adam (Aaron), Nathaniel, and Avalon Edwards and Christopher and Michael Oliveri; along with numerous nieces, nephews and extended family. He expressed his love for all of them in many ways and his affection was reciprocated in abundance.
Marvin was most appreciative of the medical professionals who cared for him, including his long-time physician Dr. Richard Glock and the caregivers at Synergy HomeCare, along with those serving at River Garden Rehabilitation, Community Hospice and Baptist Hospital.
A memorial service will be held at 11:30 AM, Friday, February 16, at Congregation Ahavath Chesed, The Temple, 8727 San Jose Blvd. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Community Call (www.communitycall.org), People for the American Way or River Garden Foundation.
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