William Vessels Edwards, III

William (Bill) Vessels Edwards III, 83, of Boca Raton, Florida, formerly of Oldwick, New Jersey, passed away peacefully at his home on October 12, 2025, following a courageous battle with Parkinson’s disease and cancer.

Born on March 7, 1942, in Cleveland, Ohio, to William Vessels Edwards, Jr. and Ruth (Pearse) Edwards, Bill had memories of living next-door to his grandparents, riding across town on the bus to church, and planting buckeye trees. With his beloved wife of 54 years, Lucinda (Lucy) Campbell Mock Edwards, Bill lived in Wyoming, Colorado, New Jersey, Louisiana, Texas, New Jersey (again), and Florida.

Bill attended Lakewood High School in Lakewood, Ohio, the University of Cincinnati (earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an accounting major), and the University of Illinois (earning a master’s degree in accounting science). He was an Air Force officer in Vietnam and stateside, and later an accounting and systems analyst for Exxon for 35 years.

Bill was also a championship swimmer. He began his swimming career with his local YMCA and then swam competitively in high school and college, earning first place in district and state meets and All American for breaststroke (100 yards) in 1958, 1959, and 1960. He was also a finalist in the Pan-American tryouts.

Throughout his life, Bill enjoyed studying history and chronicling the evolution of space exploration. He was the family photographer and served as the official videographer (with his signature six-camera system) for his granddaughters’ recreational soccer teams that he loved co-coaching with his son.

He also loved family bike trips, woodworking, building sandcastles, old movies/musicals, shopping trips to Publix, taking advantage of any buy-one-get-one sales, and black cherry soda (or Cherry Coke when an alternative was needed).

Bill is survived by his daughter, Lana Edwards Santoro, his son, Scott William Edwards, his granddaughters, Carys Edwards, Hadley Edwards, and Brynn Edwards, his son-in-law, Christopher A. Santoro, and daughter-in-law, Heather Icardi Edwards. Lucy predeceased him in 2021.

A burial service will be held at Spring Hill Cemetery, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania on October 25, 2025, followed by a celebration of life service in Boca Raton, Florida on December 20, 2025.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Parkinson’s Foundation, 5757 Waterford District Drive, Suite 310, Miami, Florida 33126, 1-800-4PD-INFO (473-4636), https://www.parkinson.org/, or the Air Force Aid Society, 1550 Crystal Drive, Suite 809, Arlington, VA 22202, 703-972-2648, https://afas.org.