Edward Flowers was born July 10, 1930 in a small farmhouse built by his father, John Flowers, in Logan County, Kentucky. John was in the US Army and taught military school at the San Marcos Baptist Military Academy in Texas. Ed’s mother, Ruby Price, taught high school. Ed’s extraordinary intellect was evident early on as his mother said he “would argue with a signpost”. Ed grew up in the United Methodist Church and during the late 1960’s began attending a Quaker Worship Group in Nashville, Tennessee. The culture and people of Japan had a great influence on Ed when he spent time there in the 1950’s. Many of us remember the photo that Ed carried in his wallet of some of his friends in northern Japan.
Ed met his first wife, Phyllis Jean Sedgwick while attending Perkins School of Theology. They had three children, Erin, Kerwin and Kyle. The great tragedy of Ed’s life was the untimely death of his daughter Erin at the age of 20. Ed worked as a physics teacher at Western Kentucky University.
Following a divorce in the early 1970’s, Ed moved to San Francisco in 1974. He attended San Francisco Monthly Meeting where he met his second wife Gloria Joyce Hernandez Alvarado. They purchased a house in Mountain View. Ed worked as a research and development engineer for Medasonics, Inc. where he developed several medical-technology devices that became patents. They became members of Palo Alto Meeting. Ed also enjoyed serving on the Mountain View School Board.
Following retirement, Ed and Gloria moved to San Diego to be close to Kyle and his family. They began attending La Jolla Monthly Meeting where Ed became a member. Ed and Gloria were eventually joined by Kerwin a short time before Gloria’s death in 2011. Kerwin continued living with Ed and was his devoted caretaker up until the time of Ed’s death.
Ed’s commitment to peace and harmony in the world was evidenced in his actions and the way he lived his life. He and Gloria established the San Diego chapter of the Nonviolent Peaceforce and were active in fundraisers and publicity for the organization. Ed and Kerwin sponsored three refugee families from Central America in their home. Ed was an avid cyclist and rode his bike nearly everywhere he went. Ed and Gloria’s garden was grown from “recycled” seeds and cuttings from fruits that they had purchased and eaten.
In addition to his commitment to peace and harmony, Ed’s intellectual curiosity led him to explore a wide variety of interests. This included an interest in genealogy which led to the discovery that the Flowers family had four ancestors who settled in Jamestown. Ed’s interest in music spanned from folk and classical to the didgeridoo which he learned how to play. Ed loved to tinker and dismantle electronic and mechanical objects and continued tinkering throughout his final year of life.
Ed died February 25, 2023. We will all remember him for his love of peace and care for the Earth, as well his deep compassion. Ed had a wide repertoire of silly poems and jokes. No one could help but laugh at even the silliest of his jokes. We miss him very much.