Edwin Martin Hart, III

Edwin Martin Hart, III died in his sleep Christmas night. He was 100 years old. With such a long life, we’ve forgotten many details from his faraway past but, most essential to him, he was married and together and almost inseparable from Arlene Bassett Hart for over 70 years. Arlene died five and half years ago. Early in his career, Ed was a professional commercial photographer. In World War II, he had been a photographer in the backseat of a dive-bomber and learned the trade as the Marines island-hopped up the Pacific. Later he got a job with the Army Missile Command in what became Cape Canaveral and when the opportunity arose, moved his family up to Huntsville, Alabama and worked at Redstone Arsenal. While working and raising 5 kids, he went to school and received his Bachelor’s and later, a Masters in Economics. He retired from the government after 26 years and, at 56, began Law School and earned his Juris Doctor at Mercer University. While a lawyer, he worked for Legal Aid until it was disbanded by Reagan and, after that, went into private practice where he did primarily pro bono work in Georgia and Alabama. He lived for 6 weeks in the Nicaraguan countryside with a family and learned Spanish and worked for the Organization of American States representing peasant Salvadorans and Nicaraguans. He was profoundly affected by his service in World War II and supported peace and despised war. He was a member of Veterans for Peace and served as president. For years, in Huntsville, you could see Ed, an old man marching on the side of the road carrying a sign and protesting war. Ed is survived by his 5 offspring: Dwin, Donald, Susan, David, and Robert. He has countless grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was loved and respected. We will miss the old codger but we’re sadly glad he’s back with Arlene. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation, in Ed’s name, to either Veterans for Peace or the Parkinson’s Foundation.

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