Edgar M. (Ed) Weaver, 79, passed away on November 21, 2007 at Harbor Hospice House. After graduation from Temple High School in 1945, Ed attended Texas Tech on a football scholarship. In 1946 he entered the United States Army Air Corps and served until 1949. In 1953 he received a BS degree in Animal Husbandry from Texas A&M College and in 1972 he earned a MS degree in Agricultural Education from Texas A&M University.
Ed retired from the Texas Agricultural Extension Service in February 1983 after serving thirty years as the educational arm of the United States Department of Agriculture, Texas Agricultural Extension Service, and Texas A&M University. He served as Jefferson County Extension Agent from 1966 until his retirement in 1983. He was the first County Agent in Texas to take proven laboratory rice fertility recommendations to the field by conducting field demonstrations.
His first rice field demonstration was established in Waller County in 1957. Ed introduced soybeans to Jefferson County with his first field demonstration in 1966. He also used local newspaper and radio stations to disseminate proven production practices for all plant and livestock operations.
Ed received many awards for his contributions to agriculture including the National Outstanding County Extension Agent Award in 1964, and was the 1990 Honoree of the Texas Rice Festival where he was a charter member. Ed continued working after retirement as an agricultural consultant until 1998.
Ed is survived by his wife, Elizabeth A. Weaver; sons, David Weaver of Beaumont and Daniel Weaver of Fredericksburg, Virginia; four grandsons; and six great grandchildren.
