Janis Elaine (Phillips) Edwards
October 13, 1950 – January 7, 2023
On Saturday, January 7, 2023, Jan Edwards, loving wife, mother, and grandmother, was welcomed into Heaven by her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Jan was born on October 13, 1950 in Aberdeen, MS to James Porter Phillips and Mary Frances McLeod, a charming WWII veteran and a business savvy beautician, which explains her impeccable style and incredible strength. As the middle child, sandwiched between her older sister, Fran, and baby brother, Porter, she spent her childhood running barefoot and climbing trees. Jan became a follower of Christ through the ministry of First Baptist Church in Starkville, MS. It was through the spiritual guidance of her Training Union leaders and future in-laws, Ed and Dot Edwards, that her relationship with Jesus was nurtured and nourished.
Jan fell in love with Jimmy Edwards at the age of sixteen under the watchful and permissive eye of their high school librarian. Love flourished over their years at Mississippi State University. After graduation, a two year, daily exchange of
oversea love letters began which prompted stories that lived on long after Jimmy’s return from Vietnam. The two were married on June 30, 1973. Over the next 50 years, with shared optimism, fierce loyalty to one another, deep love for family and an anchoring faith in Jesus, they walked hand in hand through this life and built a loving and supportive home for their only daughter, Staci Nichole.
Jan’s degree from Mississippi State University in Elementary Special Education would take her first to Crawford, MS and then to Little Rock, AR where she shared her gift of teaching and passion for learning with lower income children. Upon moving to Memphis,TN, Jan switched to a career in accounting where she worked faithfully and diligently until her retirement in 2017.
In 2010, Jan became Gramz (pronounced “Gram-zee”), when she welcomed her granddaughter, Hannah James, into the world. In 2012 and 2014, she added two rowdy grandsons, William Clift and Brantner Mills. If you knew Gramz, you knew all about her grandchildren. They filled her with absolute joy and reflected many of her best attributes. We see “Gramz glimpses” in Hannah’s compassion and creativity, William’s strength and love of football, and Brantner’s bright cheerfulness and warm hugs. Gramz also became a surrogate mother and grandmother to many friends and coworkers
over the years, especially to the men, women, and children of Wayside Communities Church.
Our loss is truly Heaven's gain and we are all better for having been loved by such an amazing lady. May we grieve with the hope and the knowledge that because of Jesus her death is not the end of the story. We look forward to being with her once again in the life to come and melting into her warm embrace as we bask in the glory of our Heavenly Father.
Jan was preceded in death by her parents, James Porter Phillips and Mary Frances McLeod Duncan.
She is survived by her husband and the love of her life, Jim Edwards of Austin, TX; daughter and son-in-law, Staci and Ben Brummett of Austin, TX; grandchildren, Hannah, William and Brantner Brummett; sister, Fran Rice (Stan) of Starkville, MS; brother, Porter Phillips of Starkville, MS; mother-in-law, Dot Edwards of Starkville, MS; as well as nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins, and many cherished friends and extended family members.
A funeral service for Jan will be held Thursday, January 19th, 2023 at 3 p.m. in the Smith Family Chapel at Riverbend Church in Austin, TX. A graveside service and burial is scheduled for Saturday, January 28th, 2023 at 2 p.m. at Memorial Gardens Park in Starkville, MS.
Memorial donations can be made to the Wayside Communities Church benevolence fund
(https://wayside.churchcenter.com/giving/to/honoring-jan-edwards).
