Obituary: James Stuart Edmonds (1938-2023)

James Stuart Edmonds (Age 84)
Memorial service info

James Stuart Edmonds of Arlington VA passed away on January 25th, 2023. He was 84 years old. Jim was born on June 4th, 1938 in Elmira, NY to Robert Mason Edmonds and Florence Hoff Edmonds. In the 1940’s his parents moved to the Edmonds family farm in the town of Benton, NY in the Finger Lakes. In 1955 Jim graduated from Penn Yan Academy and went on study Mechanical Engineering at Syracuse University. After graduating from Syracuse in 1959 he studied Applied Mathematics at the University of Michigan, earning a Master’s Degree in 1961. Jim moved to the Washington, DC area to work as a computer programmer for IBM where was employed for over 30 years working primarily at the Pentagon and CIA.

While at IBM he met his wife Yolanda Coppola and the two were married on January 13th, 1968 in Falls Church, VA. They then moved to Arlington where they raised their two sons.

During his undergraduate years at Syracuse Jim achieved in both academics and rowing. He was a member of the Tau Beta Pi Honor Society and in 1959 he and his crew represented the US at the Pan American games winning gold. After moving to Washington, DC he joined the Potomac Boat Club where he rowed competitively and earned a spot on the 1964 US Olympic Team. Jim continued at Potomac Boat Club in competition, volunteering on its board of governors and various committees, maintaining the house, rigging boats with expert precision, helping others to get the most out of rowing and making many lifelong friends.

Jim also had a great love of the outdoors and was a longtime member the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club where he volunteered much of his time maintaining trails and equipment. He frequently enjoyed hiking and canoeing with his family in the Shenandoah and Adirondack mountains, through which he instilled his lifelong appreciation for the outdoors and respect for nature in his children and their peers.

Jim will be remembered for his dependability and dedication to his friends and family including being a caregiver to his ill wife during the past 11 years. His clarity of thought and dry wit will not be forgotten, however he will be remembered above all else for his humility.

Jim is survived by his wife Yolanda of 54 years, his two sons Eric of Alexandria, VA and Marc of Arlington, VA, his brother Robert John “Jack” Edmonds of Phoenix, AZ and his nieces Christine (Tim) Hall of Mount Dora, FL and Sonja Liotti of Arlington. He is also survived by several other nieces, nephews and cousins. Besides his parents, he is predeceased by his sister Nancy E. Lent.

A gathering followed by a memorial service for Jim will be held at Murphy Funeral Home, 4510 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA, 22203, on Friday February 3rd, 2023 from 1-4pm. In lieu of flowers please donate to a charity of your choice.

Submitted by Murphy Funeral Home, Arlington