Darrell Patrick Edwards

Darrell Patrick Edwards was born on June 10, 1957, in Cleveland, Ohio to the late Reuberta and Terrence Edwards. He was the brother of Terry Lester (Tyrone), Toni Edwards and baby sister Traci Edwards (deceased). Darrell was single and had no children. His death at the end of the year was sudden and believed to have been from a heart attack or stroke. His family is grateful to have had a wonderful holiday with him and that he did not suffer on a prolonged basis. Darrell went by the nickname “Boya,” given to him when he was a toddler. He was named after Charles Boye’ by the store owner who was located on the first floor of the apartment building his family lived in at that time. He earned the name because even as a young child he was always entertaining and making people laugh. The name and his ability to make people laugh endured throughout his life. Boya and his sister Terry who were less than a year apart in age and did everything together as children. This included them going to church at ages 7 and 8 and getting baptized as Methodist on their own. He loved and believed in God until the day he died. While he had bad arthritis and diabetes from an early age he never complained and was grateful for all that he had.

Boya was highly intelligent. He was in gifted classes and excelled in all subjects. In the first grade he was fluent in French. Boya was also witty. He loved to laugh and to make others laugh with jokes, most often off the top of his head. Relatives all have stories about his pranks growing up. At family gatherings, he and our sister Toni would crack jokes on each other continuously, with each of them striving to land the best jokes. He usually won. Everyone comments on his upbeat personality and his humor which will be greatly missed. Boya had an enormous heart and he loved strongly. He was known to take relatives, friends and neighbors shopping, to doctor and rehab appointments and to help in any way he could. His eldest Aunt Jane would call daily for him to come over for one reason or another, but we knew it was mostly for his company. Boya’s great love was sports. When the Cavaliers won the championship, he took the bus downtown with his wheelchair to revel in the massive celebration. Boya loved his neighbors and the staff of the building, often doing things and sharing meals with his friends there. During nice weather he routinely bought peanuts for the squirrels and would spend afternoons feeding them. In nice and wintry weather, he was often seen speeding down Mayfield in his wheelchair. Boya maintained friendships with childhood friends and was always making new friends. He leaves to mourn him his family including cousins, nephews, nieces, and great nephews. It is hard to imagine life without him, but it is easy to imagine him with God and the angels. Boya give our love to all our family and friends who have left this world.