Former mayor Bill Edmonds dies at age 61

After a long illness, former Nevada Mayor Bill Edmonds died Wednesday, at St. John's Regional Medical Center, Joplin. A Butler native, Edmonds graduated from Butler High School in 1966. He attended Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg, graduating in 1970. Edmonds worked for 34 years for the Department of Mental Health, retiring as superintendent from the Nevada Habilitation Center in 2004. Edmonds served two terms as mayor of Nevada.

The current superintendent of the center, Chris Baker, said that Edmonds made a lasting impression.

"Bill was one of the one of the all-time good guys in the department of mental health," Baker said. "He was always supportive of you; and personally, of me. He's going to be missed. It's been over four years since he retired and even today he had an effect on the people out here. I just hope that at the end of my tenure that people could say that of me, 'Well, you know Chris had an impact.' If I could have half the impact that Bill had out here, I think that would be quite an accomplishment."

Baker said that Edmonds' calm attitude was one of his defining characteristics.

"His demeanor, his calmness and ability communicate was great," Baker said. "He always showed respect for all the clients of the Hab Center and all the staff."

Realtor John Flynn said he had a lot of respect for Edmonds, an opinion he shared with his father.

"My dad worked for Bill out at the Hab Center," Flynn said. "He thought Bill was a terrific guy and an excellent boss. He didn't try to act better than anyone else, he was just an ordinary guy. In the encounters I had with him, he always was easy to talk with. I enjoyed talking with him."

Flynn said that even adversity couldn't keep Edmonds' personality from shining through.

"He bought a convertible and drove with the top down. He was determined to make the most of the time he had left."

Flynn compared Ed-monds to another local man who put the welfare of the community ahead of his own benefit, the late Franklin Norman.

"He was like Franklin, he did things for the community and not for himself," Flynn said. "He was a good man and a big loss to the community."

Edmonds is survived by his wife, Marilyn; son Brian Edmonds and his wife Joya, Kansas City; granddaughter, Naomi; his mother, Norma Edmonds, Nevada; two brothers, Danny Edmonds and his wife Carole, Maryville, and Kelly Edmonds, St. Louis, and several aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m., on Saturday, May 16, at the United Methodist Church in Nevada with the Rev. Ralph Clark officiating. Interment will follow at Balltown Cemetery, Horton, Mo. Friends may call now and until 8 p.m., Friday, at Ferry Funeral Home, 301 S. Washington, Nevada.

Those who wish may contribute to the Vernon County Cancer Relief Fund in care of Mike Turnbull, 709 W. Park Hill Drive, Nevada.