Obituary of Edwin Velez

Edwin "Eddie" Velez, age 56, son of Luis and Digna (Ellin) Velez was born, December 6, 1959 in New York, New York passed away December 21, 2015, at St. Vincent's Riverside Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida. A retired Navy veteran, he worked at Express Scripts. Eddie loved traveling, NASCAR, and cooking. He was very proud of his service in the Navy and of his children. He always expressed how much he loved his children and grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his eldest brother Fermin. He is survived by; his wife, Diane Velez; daughter, Myriam Velez; son, Edwin Jr Velez (Amanda) and grandson Aiden; daughter, Christina Strickland (Phillip) and grandson Jasper; brothers, Luis (Lucy), Freddy (Haydee), and Victor; sisters, Maria (Andy) and Carmen; partner Peggy Barnhill Mixson; many nieces, nephews, cousins, and a host of other family and friends.

He is lovingly remembered by his daughter Myriam for his time cooking her special meals, as well as the many high school chorus field trips that he chaperoned. "Dad was involved with my activities and friends in Chorus and he was always entertaining us with his corny dad jokes. He also fostered my love of music and politics, the latter of which led to many years of political banter between the two of us. Descansa en paz Papi."

Edwin Jr. fondly remembers his dad collecting baseball cards, his love of computers and repairing them, cooking with him, listening to music in his 1982 Monte Carlo. "Dad enjoyed watching the Jaguars play, and I loved hearing his stories from his time in the Navy. I have great memories of a cruise we took on St. Patty's Day in Savannah, Georgia. Me haces mucha falta Papi."

Chrissy affectionately remembers going to the Daytona 500 together with her Dad. "Papi thanks for teaching me to cook and shooting in your back yard. I will miss talking on the phone together as we commiserated about the Jaguars' games. I love you Daddy."

Aiden remembers Abuelo buying him Hess trucks every Christmas. They went fishing together and to monster truck shows. "We even got to ride in the back of a truck called Grave Digger' which was awesome. I will miss you abuelo." Aiden and Abuelo enjoyed playing with radio controlled cars together.

In Eddie's memory, the family requests that you share your love with the special people in your life as often as you can. We would also like to thank everyone who visited him in the hospital and who lend support with love and arrangements in any way.

Eddie will be inurned at Jacksonville National Cemetery at a later date to be announced by the family.