Gloria Deanna Edwards

Published 12:00 am Sunday, June 5, 2022

Gloria Deanna Edwards, 57, a native of Jeanerette and a resident of Jacksonville Beach, Florida for the last 26 years, passed away at 9:30 a.m. on May 17, 2022, at the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, with her family and friends at her side.

Deanna or Gloria or ‘Deets’ or ‘Dee’, as she was affectionately called, was a 1982 honor graduate of Jeanerette Senior High School and a 1986 graduate of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette with a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science. She was affiliated with the First Church of God in Christ of Jeanerette where her grandfather was the founder and first pastor. She was baptized as a youngster by Bishop James W. Proctor.

Deanna worked for the Louisiana State Department of Social Services in Baton Rouge for six years, then moved to Henderson, North Carolina where she was employed by the Sara Lee Corporation. She relocated to Carlstadt, New Jersey where she worked for Coach, which was owned by Sara Lee Corporation, subsequently moving to Jacksonville in 1995 when Coach expanded its distribution functions. When Coach completed the setup, Deanna did not return to the cold Jersey winters, but remained in Florida. Her contract with UPS in Portland, Oregon necessitated a commute between Jacksonville and Portland for several years. She established and maintained her corporation GDEC Systems, LLC in her home office for many years. At her demise, she was an employee of Lowe’s after contracting her services as an IT professional with them for years. She was an IT authority.

Deets loved to read and travel. From a very young child, she enjoyed meeting and talking to new people. She was a world traveler and almost completed her ‘bucket list’ but an angel called her name and she left us here. Her generosity of spirit, genuine smile or grin and joy of life will live on in the memories of her relatives and friends.

She leaves to cherish her memories her mother, Mrs. Gloria Lewis Edwards; her sister Mrs. Troylyn Edwards Martin (Larry); one uncle, Fred J. Lewis (Betty); two nieces, Troylyn Gabrielle Mcneal and Ashley Denys Mcneal; a great-nephew Ethan John Gabriel Mcneal; an extended family member John Edwards Jr.; two aunts-in-law, Mrs. Elvina B. Lewis and Mrs. Willie A. Edwards Jacquet; thirteen first-cousins; and a host of other relatives and friends.

She was preceded in death by her father John Henry Edwards; her maternal grandparents the Reverend and Mrs. Fred Lewis; her paternal grandparents Mr. and Mrs. Edmond Edwards Jr.; an aunt Mrs. Emmaline Lewis Marks; and three uncles, (Ret.) Lt. Colonel Lee A. Lewis, Charles Edwards Sr. and Troy Lyn Edwards.

A memorial service is scheduled for 11 a.m. on June 11, 2022, at the First Church of God in Christ, 1901 MLK Drive, Jeanerette, Louisiana, where Bishop James W. Proctor is the pastor.

A memorial service is also scheduled for 11 a.m. on June 18, 2022, at the First Baptist Church of Jacksonville Beach, Florida, 324 North 5th Street, Jax Beach, with Pastor John Shultz.