Rev. Edward A. Libby

Rev. Edward A. Libby, 85, of Rockford, died on Saturday, February 1, 2020. 

He was born June 22, 1934 in Salem, Massachusetts to Violet Spaulding and raised in the Boston, Massachusetts area by Ella, Roger, and Ruth Libby. He graduated from Boston Technical High School; Gordon College, with a bachelor’s degree in History; and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, with a Master of Divinity degree. He later pursued doctoral studies in Preaching via the Association of Chicago Theological Schools. 

He was an ordained minister in the American Baptist Churches U.S.A., and served South Baptist Church in Worcester, Massachusetts; Bethel Baptist Church in East Lansing, Michigan; Covenant Baptist Church in Detroit/West Bloomfield, Michigan; and State Street Baptist Church/Creekwood Baptist Church in Rockford. He also served as a member of the Ministers and Missionaries Benefit Board.

He was an avid photographer, traveler with a particular love for Ireland, and masterful teller of jokes and stories. He was a life-long Boston Red Sox fan.

He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Evelyn; son, Christopher and daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Webb of Liberty, Missouri; daughter, Andrea Sweet and son-in-law, Brad of Rockford; grandchildren, Emma Libby, and Jackson and Hunter Sweet; and close family friends, Merlin and Nina Lawson and family, James and Patricia Reynhout and family, and Merlin and Ireta Ekstrom and family.

A visitation will be held at Creekwood Baptist Church, 7281 Olde Creek Rd., Rockford on Saturday, February 22, 2020 from 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m., with a celebration of his life to follow. In lieu of flowers, please make donations in his memory to the American Cancer Society. 

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