Edgar Lee Campbell, Jr.

Edgar "Lee" Campbell, Jr., 97 ½, passed away peacefully at The Oaks in Ellijay, Georgia, on February 21, 2025. Lee was born August 20, 1927, in Newport News, Virginia.

After graduating from Morrison High School (now Warwick High School) in Newport News in 1945, Lee served in the United States Navy. He was stationed for the last nine months of World War ll at the US Naval Bureau of Personnel in Washington D.C. as a yeoman. After his honorable discharge, Lee went to Atlantic Christian College (now Barton University) on a football scholarship. After college he worked on building ships at the Newport News Shipyard before beginning a long career of insurance investigating, both in the field and in management with Retail Credit Company and Hooper Holmes.

Lee is preceded in death by his wife, Ginny, with whom he shared a wonderful sixty-six year marriage. He is also preceded in death by his father, Edgar Lee Campbell, Sr., his mother, Marie Snidow Campbell, his brother, John Whitaker Campbell, and his sister, Greig Campbell Sheldon.

Those left to cherish his memory are his daughters: Ginger Campbell Meador (Steve) of Rutherfordton, NC, and Nancy Campbell Elliott (Bill) of Ellijay, Georgia; grandchildren: Stephen Richardson Meador (Terri) of Broadway, NC, John Campbell Meador (Amy) of Rutherfordton, NC, Dr. Rachel Lee Norman (Austin) of Marietta, Ga, Becca Elliott Wilson of Marietta, Ga, and step grandson William Bradley Elliott (Angie) of Albany, Ga, and great-grandchildren: Campbell Noah Meador, Brantley Paige Meador, Madison Lee Meador, Brock Campbell Wilson, Piper Kinslee Wilson, and step great-grand children Aiden and Brayden Wheeler, and Emma, Liam, and Wren Elliott. He is also survived by two nieces ,Martha Ann Willis and Joy Blair, a nephew, Johnny Campbell, and cousins, as well as extended family and close friends Stephanie Dickerson, Betty Dale, and Jay and Ellie Murphy.

Lee, a Christian, was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He loved animals, especially his dog, Jessie.

Lee loved to go fishing, work in his yard, play bridge, and find sharks' teeth as he walked the beach at Topsail Island. His entire life he loved growing tomatoes and did so through last year in a raised garden at The Oaks. He loved having a suntan, and he could be seen sunbathing daily in that same garden. Storytelling was a big part of who he was, and hopefully, many of his stories will continue his legacy for years to come.

A celebration of his life will be held at 11:00 AM on Thursday, February 27, 2025, at Peninsula Funeral Home in Newport News, Va.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Spindale United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 241, Spindale, NC 28160, The Oaks at Ellijay, 114 Penland Street, Ellijay, GA 30540, or your local humane society.

******A special thanks to The Oaks for helping Lee live his final years in happiness and love. He always said that living there was as if he had died and gone to heaven. Thank-you to Chrissy Fountain for allowing Lee to come back to The Oaks, his home, after rehab to live out his final days. Thank-you also to the following Oaks employees for going on their own time to sit with him at rehab: Stephanie Dickerson, Betty Dale, Niki McClure, Nate Kerrigan, and Kimberly Stafford.

This is a courtesy announcement by Logan Funeral Home & Chapel on behalf of Peninsula Funeral Home in Newport News, Virginia.