Obituary of Dr. Thomas R. Edwards, Jr.

Dr. Thomas R. Edwards, Jr., a longtime resident of Scotch Plains and Plainfield, died Saturday, July 9, 2005 at his home. Born in Findlay, Ohio, Dr. Edwards was a Professor of English literature at Rutgers University from 1964-1993. He graduated summa cum laude from Amherst College, Massachusetts and received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1956. While at Rutgers, he was a winner of the Warren J. Susman Award for Distinguished Teaching and a founding editor of Raritan quarterly. He held Guggenheim and ACLS Fellowships and his book Imagination and Power was a 1971 finalist for the National Book Award. He was a regular book reviewer for the New York Review of Books and the New York Times Sunday book section. Dr. Edwards also served for 16 years as Chairman of Continental Land and Fur, an oil and gas development company based in New Orleans and Houston, and was a Trustee Emeritus of the Wardlaw-Hartridge School. He is survived by his wife, Nancy Mathis Edwards; two children, Sarah Edwards-Schmidt of Brooklyn, NY and John Edwards of Plainfield; and two grandchildren, Elizabeth Edwards and Emma Davis. Private arrangements by Higgins Home for Funerals, Watchung. Memorial contributions may be made in his memory to the Wardlaw-Hartridge School, 1295 Inman Avenue, Edison, NJ 08820.