1931-2024
Edgar Leroy Culpepper 93, of Dumas, Arkansas went to be with the Lord on August 30, at Cavalier Healthcare England, Arkansas. He was born January 14, 1931, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. He was the son of Robert Lee and Janice Stone Culpepper.
He graduated Dumas High School and attended Arkansas A&M and the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, where he was a member of Pi Kapa Alpha. Ed joined the U.S. Navy as an aviation electronics technician and flight navigator and served his country in the Korean War. When he returned home, Ed attended church, where he made faces at a red head in the choir. He later found out that the pretty girl he was teasing was in fact not his brother’s girlfriend as previously thought. Ed proceeded to track her down, tell her date to “get lost,” and he and Carolyn were married in 1955. Edgar and Carolyn enjoyed almost 70 years together before she preceded him in death a month prior. They left a large legacy behind in their three children, Camile (Kenny) Wyllia of England, Clay (Margaret) Culpepper of Douglas, and Leslie (Trent) Keisling of Petit Jean, along with a host of grandchildren, great grandchildren, sons-in-law, nieces, and nephews.
Ed saw every day as an adventure and relished his time on this earth. As a teen he rode the rails in the Midwest to work the wheat harvest, then took a job with the railroad. In 1953, he and his fellow airmen successfully ditched their plane as it crashed in Cape Cod Bay and were rescued after sending up flares. He later worked for International Paper, before moving back to Dumas to work at Dante cotton gin until it closed.
Ed appreciated the simple things in life. He loved the land and the men who worked it. Visits to John Deere, hunting at deer camp, coffee at Matthew’s, long days on the farm, and recently, sharing a root beer and a conversation while watching his squirrels were always sources of joy. His kind heart, love of children, and sense of humor endeared him to all who knew him.
Private graveside service Saturday, September 7, 2024, at Memorial Park Cemetery in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
