Rev. Edward Fowler Jr.

Oh what a Sunday morning it was, beautiful and calm. Faithful in service and faithful in commitment to his flock, Sunday morning was Reverend Fowler’s favorite day of the week and favorite time of day. It is fitting that it was also God’s appointed time for him to enter into the arms of the Lord.

Reverend Edward John Fowler, Jr., good and faithful servant to God, his church, his family and his community departed this life on a Sunday, July 29, 2018. God had a plan for Rev. Fowler and he knew it. He passed peacefully on a Sunday morning surrounded by family and caregivers in Ft. Valley, Georgia.

Edward John Fowler, Jr., was the oldest of four children born to the late Reverend Edward J. Fowler, Sr. and Naomi Bradley Fowler, on September 19, 1922 in Putney, Georgia. He accepted the Lord Jesus Christ and was baptized at an early age at the Rocky Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Putney, Georgia by the late Reverend J. Branch. He graduated high school from Georgia Normal and Agricultural College and he attended Morehouse College, in Atlanta, Georgia. Reverend Fowler was united in marriage to his true love, the former Lillian Benton, on November 9, 1955. They were blessed with six children Brenda, Edward III, Joseph, Karen, Bernard and Sheila. Reverend Fowler worked for the Department of Defense at the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany, GA. He retired following 35 years of employment.

Like his earthly father, Reverend Fowler had a strong faith in God and devoted himself to serving the church. He was licensed into ministry under the pastorate of Reverend J. Branch and the Rocky Hill church family on June 13, 1943 and would later serve as pastor of Rocky Hill Missionary Baptist Church (1955-1975); and both Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church (1964 – 2014) and Saco Missionary Baptist Church (1964 – 2014) for fifty years. His religious responsibilities also included serving as Chairman of the Putney District Union for an extended period of time.

Reverend and Sister Fowler were longtime residents of Albany, Georgia, until 2014 when they moved to Macon, Georgia, for health reasons.

Left to cherish his memory are his Beloved and Devoted wife of 62 years, Lillian Benton Fowler; Loving children: Brenda Fowler-Berry (Andrew) of Tallahassee, Florida; Edward Fowler, III (Denise) of Palmetto, Georgia; Karen Fowler-Felton (A. Richmond) of Marshallville, Georgia; Rev. Bernard Fowler (Angela) of Lumberton, New Jersey; Sheila Fowler-Davis of Macon, Georgia; and daughters from a previous marriage Jacquelyn Pounds and Joyce F. Kellam, both of Atlanta, Georgia. Eleven grandchildren: Andrea Berry; Andrew Berry, Jr. (Brittan); Adam Berry (Amber); Octavia Cross (Jared Lee); Carmen Barner (Larry); Christian Felton; Adrienne Fowler, Bernard Fowler, Jr.; Amber Felton; Alexis Fowler and Bradley Fowler. Four great grandchildren: Carter Cross; Cameron Berry; Zion Berry and Zo ë Barner.

He was preceded in death by siblings, Beunice Howell and Isreal Fowler, Sr.; his son Minister Joseph Fowler; and his sons in-law: Melvin C. Davis and Timothy Kellam, Sr.

Reverend Fowler will be dearly missed by his Sibling: Mrs. Naomia Mack of Augusta, Georgia; In-Laws: Rose Fowler; Dorothy James; Donnie Lizzmore; Mildred Hardy; Carlton Benton; Silas Benton and a host of nieces and nephews.