Phelps, Edwin Rice, Jr. 92, died October 19, 2007.

Fu-neral services will be held 4:00 p.m., Thursday, October 25 at the Amos Family Funeral Home, 10901 Johnson Dr. Ed Phelps was an exceptional man who excelled in many fields, honored his promises, adored being with his family, appreciated a good rare steak, and loved his vodka on the rocks. Ed Phelps was associated with Peabody Coal Co. of St. Louis, MO from 1960 until 1980, where he was president and CEO from 1971 until 1980. Prior to that he worked at Pittsburg and Midway in Pittsburg, KS from 1948 until 1960. He was a member of the National Coal Association (chairman from 1974 to 1975) and a past member of the board of directors of the American Mining Congress, the Bituminous Operators' Association, and the U.S. National Committee of the World Energy Conference.

He was also a member of the Sigma Tau Engineering Society and was awarded the Aime Howard N. Eavenson Award in 1972 and the Erskine Ramsay Award in 1978. Coming from a close family in Leavenworth, KS, he en-joyed a youth of fun-filled adventures that he later loved to recount. A standout foot-ball player, he was recruited by then-athletic director Phog Allen to play for the Univer-sity of Kansas. While at KU, he lettered in football for three years and was named all-Big Six and honorable mention All-America center. He was also a member of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity. He graduated from the Univer-sity of Kansas with a B.S. in civil engineering in 1936. In 1976, he received KU's Dis-tinguished Service Citation. In World War II, Ed started his military career as a first lieutenant in the Army Engineers and ended his war service as a lieutenant commander in the Naval Air Reserves. As Admiral Nimitz's personal navigator, he flew the fleet admiral to Tokyo Bay to sign the armistice ending the war in the Pacific. Ed met his wife Yvonne 'Bonnie' White at KU. After her stroke in 1988, he showed her the same selfless care that she had given him for years. She died in 2003, just four months shy of their 65th wedding anniversary. Ed was preceded in death by his brother Donald Phelps, his son Jon Phelps, his granddaughter Jessica Phelps, and his second wife Martha Hutchison Phelps. Among the survivors are his sons Edwin III (Sara) of Kansas City and Bruce (Linda) of St. Louis and his daughter Janet Karr (Michael) of Kansas City. He was 'Pappy' to seven grand-children and ten great-grandchildren and 'Uncle Edwin' to numerous nieces and nephews.

Published in St. Louis Post-Dispatch from Oct. 23 to Oct. 24, 2007