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

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

officer, businessman, and politician.

Early life

Edwards was born in

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...

, Wyoming.

Education

Edwards graduated from the

Naval Postgraduate School Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is a Naval command with a graduate university mission, operated by the United States Navy and located in Monterey, California. The NPS mission is to provide "defense-focused graduate education, including clas ...

Monterey Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census. The city was fou ...

, California.

Career

Military

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

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. 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 and the county seat of Converse County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 6,386 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the home of the Wyoming State Fair. History Douglas was platted in 1886 when the ...

in 1993 and was elected to the city council there. He subsequently served as a commissioner of Converse County. 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 62 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 District Six is a place in Cape Town, South Africa. District Six may also refer to: :Government divisions * District 6, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam * District 6 (New York City Council), in the United States * VI District, Turku, in Finland * Dist ...

as a Republican. 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 and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

. He officially stepped down on 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 Wyoming politicians 21st-century members of the Wyoming Legislature