Edward Harley Minter, III, age 79, of Hamilton, completed his earthly mission at his home in Hamilton, Alabama, on Monday, April 29, 2019.
Born on August 28, 1939 in the small east Tennessee town of Whitwell to Edward Harley Minter, Jr., and Hazel Ruth Graham, Ed and his brother Don grew up in a home where Sundays were spent at church and going to their grandparents’ home for huge feasts and playing with cousins. He learned the value of hard work, watching his father labor in the coal mines, then as an electrician, moving from job site to job site with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to support his family.
As he grew into his teenage years, Ed followed in the path of his professional baseball-playing uncle, Hillis Layne, hitchhiking car rides across the mountain 50 miles roundtrip to Chattanooga to play in American Legion games. His recounted the best memory of his baseball career was his team’s invitation to play in a tournament at Historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham.
Ed was a multi-sport athlete, playing football in addition to baseball. He played quarterback, defensive back, punter, and kick returner for the Whitwell Tigers. Ed has supported his Tigers for many years, and he was exceptionally happy this past season as they went 15-0 and won the 1A Tennessee State Football championship. Ed remains in the WHS record books for the longest touchdown in school history, a 98-year kickoff return.
Upon graduation, Ed entered the University of Tennessee for three years then transferred to Tennessee Tech prior to entering the United States Air Force in 1961. Ed served 21 years in the United States Air Force, retiring as a master sergeant in 1982. In 1983 he was hired by the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs as a Claims Representative, representing veterans whose claims had been denied by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. In 1987 he was promoted to Assistant State Commissioner and Assistant to the Director where he served until his retirement in 2001. During his service with ASDVA, Ed administered the Alabama G.I. Bill scholarship program, oversaw the department’s property management program, created a flag education program in conjunction with fourth-grade Alabama History; and he designed the plaque to honor soldiers from the State of Alabama at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial at Omaha Beach, in Normandy, France.
Moving to Hamilton upon his state retirement, he immediately went to work in the private sector as co-owner of Minter Court Reporting, and he immersed himself into the community, working as a volunteer for various entities over the past 18 years. Ed was a graduate of the 2004 Marion County Leadership Program; a founding and charter member of the Northwest Alabama Arts Council in 2004, serving as the first treasurer, a position he held for 13 years; he was a charter member of the arts council’s Image Master Photography Club where his “Red Barn” photo is incorporated into the group’s logo. He was active in the Hamilton American Legion Post, where he served as Adjutant; he served on the Planning and Resource Consortium of Marion County; he was a member of the Marion County Community Development Foundation; he was appointed to serve on the Hamilton Industrial Development Board in 2006, being named chairman in 2009. In December 2008, Ed was named the Hamilton Kiwanis Club’s Citizen of the Year. Ed loved antique cars, especially his 1929 Mercedes Gazelle, and participated in many area parades, festivals, and car shows. Ed’s home church was the Hamilton Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where he and his wife Marla regularly attended and served.
Ed is survived by his wife of 22 years, Marla (Avery) Minter; a brother, Don Hale Minter; sons, Edward H. Minter IV (Kelli), Gregory L. Miller (Jenna), Andrew T. Miller (Tori); daughter, Nicole Minter Akers (Blue); grandchildren, Amanda Minter Bagwell (Hunter), Christopher Edward Minter, Logan Miller, Alexis Miller, Jackson Miller, and another grandchild due in November; great-grandchildren: Crosby and Riley Bagwell; nephews and nieces, Don Hale Minter, Jr., Brian Minter, Alicia Minter, and Susan Minter. Ed was preceded in death by his parents Edward H. Minter, Jr. and Hazel Ruth Graham Minter.
Funeral services were held on Friday, May 3, 2019, at Hamilton Funeral Home in Hamilton, Alabama, under the direction of family friend Kyle Jackson, and were officiated by Brother Brandon Campbell of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Interment followed at Hodges Town Cemetery, Hodges, Alabama, with full military honors by a United States Air Force Honor Guard from Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Alabama.