Edward Dillard

On Tuesday, December 6, 2016, Edward F. Dillard was called home to his eternal rest, with his wife by his side. He was born on May 25, 1964 in Boston, MA, to the late Ida Dillard and Edward Hamilton. Edward was educated in the public schools of Boston, MA and graduated High School in 1982. He obtained an Associate and Bachelor Degrees from Excelsior College. In November 1982 he enlisted in the Navy and attended recruit training in Orlando, FL. Edward received his first orders to VP-44 where he was assigned as a Maintenance Control Clerk and Logs and Records Yeoman. Realizing this was not the career path for him, he sought out another field and reported to Intelligence Specialist (IS) A-School in 1986 where he found his niche in the Navy. Edward flourished in the 15 field and was promoted several times all the way up to the distinguished rank of Intelligence Specialist Master Chief (lSCM). During his Navy Career, Edward was stationed at COMNAVFOR Japan, USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN (CVN-72), NMITC (as an Instructor and awarded the NMITC Instructor of the Year for 1994), Naval Special Warfare Development Group, USS RAMAGE (DDG-61), SEAL Team FOUR, DNI OPNAV Support, Center of Naval Intelligence and the Technical Advisor for Intelligence Specialist Training, COMUSNAVCENT Bahrain, and Fleet Forces Command. His military decorations include three Defense Meritorious Medals, Joint Commendation Medal, Navy Commendation Medal with three gold stars, Joint Meritorious Unit Commendation Navy Achievement Medal with four gold stars and various other citations. He retired from his well- decorated Navy career in December 2012 with 30 years of service. His last employment was with the Department of the Navy working at Fleet Force Command as a civilian. Edward accepted the Lord as his personal Savior at an early age. He later became a member of the Board of Trustees for Fourth Baptist Church, Portsmouth, VA. In addition he was an active participant in both the Men's Fellowship and Security Ministry. Edward was good-humored, dependable, and a person who went the extra mile to help out others in need. Edward would always find a way to push others to strive to become the best person they could be. He took the time to listen and provide sound advice to anyone who reached out to him. He rejoiced in helping others. Edward was a loving, devoted husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, cousin, and he cherished his relationships with his family and friends. He was also a loyal Raiders and Celtics fan. He was preceded in death by his father (Edward Hamilton), mother (Ida Dillard) and a sister (Carla Williams). Edward leaves to cherish his memory, his loving devoted wife, Lisa Dillard; two daughters, Shonta and Carla Dillard; grandson Kaiden Dillard; Mother-in-Law, Velma Forge of Chesapeake, VA; two brothers, James Dillard of Marion, SC, William Sweet (Leslie) of Malden, MA; four sisters, Annette Dillard and Virginia Dillard of Boston, MA, Ida Myers of Malden, MA, Roberta Sweet-Brown of Austell, GA and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and ex- tended family and friends.

Edward Dillard

May 25, 1964 - December 6, 2016