Edmund R. Powell lived 76 years before the Lord took him on Dec. 2, 2021 at the Hospice Unit at Parkview Hospital, Fort Wayne, Indiana. His parents Edmund and Gertrude Powell, and sister Mary, preceded him in death. Currently living are his wife Dottie, his five children, Karen, Karl, Kristin, Heather, and Noel; his 19 grandchildren, and three great grandchildren. His sister Jo Ann Selander passed away on December 6th.

Eddie's birth was distinctive. He was the first in the nation to survive a total blood transfusion due to the RH blood factor. He was hospitalized the first four months of his life. Severe hearing loss was detected, and he began wearing hearing aids when he was four. Even with hearing aids, Eddie managed his social life through lip-reading. His hearing declined through the years until he was fitted with two cochlear implants 7 years ago.

After graduating from high school in Wheaton, Illinois, he earned his Bachelor Degree in Finance from the University of Illinois. Then he went on to earn his MBA from the University of Chicago, as well as a CPA Certification. Then while attending Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) in Deerfield, Il, he married Dottie and finished his thesis and Master's Degree in Old Testament and Semitic languages. While starting his family, he served as Business Manager of the American Baptist Theological Seminary.

He and Dottie received the call from God and became missionary linguists with Wycliffe Bible Translators in Cote d'Ivoire, West Africa. Eddie analyzed the yet unwritten language of the Gouro people who numbered more than 500,000. An alphabet was developed for the Gouro language, plus a literacy curriculum and teacher-training. Now the Gouro are literate with a growing body of literature, even as they await the complete Bible in their own language!

In 2005 Eddie and Dottie were called to Israel, and served in Jerusalem in a ministry called SHEVET ACHIM , with the goal of reconciliation between Jews and Arabs. This ministry brought very ill Arab children from Gaza into Israel to receive life-saving surgeries from Israeli doctors. Arab parents would hug the necks of the Jewish surgeons who had saved their child. Eddie served as the Financial Director responsible for funds from supporting nations around the world.

Eddie recently developed and taught a class called, The Book of Genesis from the Perspective of Moses . It was very popular and showed how understanding the meaning of particular Hebrew words throughout Scripture leads to a deeper understanding and appreciation of the Bible.

Funeral services will be held on December 13 at Warrenville Chapel in Warrenville, IL. Visitation will be at 9:30 am, followed by the service at 11:30. The service beginning at 11:30 will be live-streamed through the church's YouTube page: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GDXh84mB0YE&feature=youtu.be

There will also be a memorial service at Westview Alliance Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana on December 17, at 11 am. Donations can be offered for the Gouro Language Project, in care of Warrenville Bible Chapel for the Gouro language project.