Obituary
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John B. Edwards, 72, of Poplar Grove, IL passed away on February 8, 2021 in Rockford, IL after an extended illness. John was born on August 13, 1948 in Beloit, WI to Leroy and Darlene (Wallace) Edwards. He married his loving wife of 50 years, Anne Anderson, at St. James Catholic Church in Belvidere, IL. John graduated from North Boone High School and started to attend Rock Valley College until he was drafted into the war. After he was drafted, he enlisted in the United States Army and faithfully served our country in the Vietnam War. After his honorable discharge, he began working for the Winnebago County Highway Department as a Heavy Equipment Operator. He worked there for over 41 years until his retirement. While working, John attended Reisch Worldwide College of Auctioneering in June 1979 in Mason City, Iowa. John was a member of the Prairie Grange and Flora Grange. He was a Fur and Feather Auctioneer for the Boone County Fair for a number of years. He loved auctioneering, farming and dairy farming, and collecting farming memorabilia. Most importantly, he loved spending time with his family, especially his grandsons, who were the light of his life.
John will be dearly missed by his wife, Anne; his daughter, Maradith (Steve Goodall) Hada of Poplar Grove; his siblings, Susan (Charles) Peterson of St. Charles, William (Kim) Edwards of South Beloit, Martha (James) Kniffin of New Glarus, Karen (Ken) Bach of Beloit, Alan (Michelle) Edwards of Wausau, and Leroy (Joy) Edwards of South Beloit; his grandsons, Damien and Trevor Hada; numerous nieces, nephews, and extended family; and his auctioneer buddy, Dave Kreig.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
A walk-through visitation will be from 1:30 p.m. until 3:30 p.m., Saturday, February 13, 2021 at Anderson Funeral and Cremation Services, 218 W. Hurlbut Ave., Belvidere, IL 61008. The funeral ceremony will follow. Due to state mandates, only 25 guests are allowed in the funeral home at one time. A live stream of the funeral ceremony will be made available on Saturday, February 13, 2021 at 3:30 p.m. Pastor Tom Hay will be officiating. Burial will be at 10:00 a.m., Monday, February 15, 2021 at Poplar Grove Cemetery. Memorial donations in John’s name may be gifted to the family to establish a memorial at a later date.
