E. Edward "Eddie" Bird died Thursday, February 26, 2015, on his 82nd birthday, at Alpha Health and Rehab Center in Greer, South Carolina.

He was born in Scott Depot, West Virginia, in the home of his parents, Cecil and Itha McCallister Bird, who both preceded him in death. He graduated from St. Albans High School in the class of 1952, and was a draftsman/designer at Union Carbide in the Kanawha Valley of West Virginia for several years before the family relocated to Greenville in 1968 for the faith-based educational opportunities of his children.

He was employed locally by J.E. Sirrine Engineers and Piedmont Architects & Engineers before working as a contract designer for many years. He was a Christian and a Bible-believing Baptist. His hobbies were beekeeping, gardening, and reading his favorite stories and doctrines in the Bible.

He was also preceded in death by his sister, Delores Bird Roberts, of Florida, and a brother, Richard Steven Bird, of Hixson, Tennessee. He is survived by his daughters; Michelle Bird Rosier (Wayne), of Greenville; Martha “Marcie” Bird Thompson (Peter) of Greer; Sherry Bird Gorsline (Jim), of Lilburn, Georgia, with whom he made his home for the last several years; Bonita “Bonnie” Bird Nowak (Marty); and Rosemary Bird White (David), both of Atlanta, Georgia; two sons; John Bird and Philip Bird (Theresa), and the children’s mother, Mary Griffith Bird, all of Taylors, South Carolina. He had fourteen grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren.

The service will be held Saturday, February 28, at 12:30 PM at Graceland East Memorial Park, 2206 Woodruff Road, Simpsonville, SC. Arrangements are being made by Palmetto Mortuary, 1313 A Miller Road, Greenville, South Carolina.