John “Gene” Edwards, 81

John “Gene” Edwards, 81, of Franklin died Saturday, May 27, 2023 at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

Born on May 24, 1942, he was the son of the late John C. and Lena (Day) Edwards.

Gene married the love of his life Florence L. (Milkens) Edwards on February 29, 1964, and was proud father of his son John Charles Edwards of Franklin and his daughters, Linda (Daniel) Ebbeling of Franklin and Roberta Edwards (Macduncan Foster) of Tewksbury.

Last but not least, he was the ultra-proud grandfather of Dora Ebbeling and was often seen in the audience of her many performances through The Franklin School of the Performing Arts.

After graduating from Unicoi County High School, Gene served in the Navy until 1965.

He was employed in computer operations and facility management at Interactive Data Corporation from 1969 until his retirement in 2012.

Besides his wife, children and granddaughter, he is survived by his brothers, Kenneth Edwards, Terry Edwards, Gary (Deidra) Edwards, Charlie (Sherre) Edwards and brother in law Tony Slemmons, all of Erwin, TN; sisters, Loretta (Roger) Higgins of Soddy D