David Richard Edwards (January 13, 1938 – January 5, 2013) was an American retired

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

officer, businessman, and politician.

Early life

Edwards was born in

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enr ...

, Wyoming.

Education

Edwards graduated from the

Naval Postgraduate School The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is a public graduate school operated by the United States Navy and located in Monterey, California. It offers master’s and doctoral degrees in more than 70 fields of study to the U.S. Armed Forces, DOD c ...

Monterey Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bot ...

, California.

Career

Military

In the U.S. Navy, Edwards flew more than two hundred combat missions during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. Edwards's military nickname was "Warpaint".

Business

Edwards bought the LaBonte Hotel, a historical hotel.

Politics

Edwards moved to

Douglas, Wyoming Douglas is a city in Converse County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 6,120 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Converse County and the home of the Wyoming State Fair. History Douglas was platted in 1886 when the Wyoming ...

in 1993 and was elected to the city council there. He subsequently served as a commissioner of

Converse County Converse County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 13,751. Its county seat is Douglas. History Converse County was created in 1888 by the legislature of the Wyoming Ter ...

. He served in the

Wyoming House of Representatives The Wyoming House of Representatives is the lower house of the Wyoming Legislature, Wyoming State Legislature. There are 60 Representatives in the House, representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts across the Wyoming, st ...

(2001–2008) as the Representative for District 6 as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. Edwards tendered his letter of resignation on January 6, 2012, to the Converse County Commission after being diagnosed with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As ...

. He officially stepped down February 1.

Personal life

On December 26, 2012, Edwards suffered a stroke and died on January 5, 2013, eight days short of his 75th birthday.

References

External links

Dave Edwards at ballotpedia.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Dave 1938 births 2013 deaths Politicians from Cheyenne, Wyoming People from Douglas, Wyoming Military personnel from Wyoming Naval Postgraduate School alumni United States Navy officers United States Navy personnel of the Vietnam War Wyoming city council members Republican Party members of the Wyoming House of Representatives 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians