"Big Ed" Wilkes
| Edwin "Big Ed" Wilkes | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
June 18, 1931 Blue Mountain Logan County Arkansas, USA |
| Died | December 21, 1998 (aged 67) Lubbock, Texas |
| Alma mater | Texas Tech University |
| Occupation |
Radio personality Businessman |
| Spouse(s) | Marsha Dowdy Wilkes (married 1962–1998, his death) |
| Children |
Kari Ann Wilkes Hastings |
| Notes | |
|
(1) Wilkes and Andrews were the first to record humorist Jerry Clower on a record and handled the comedian's first albums. |
|
Kari Ann Wilkes Hastings
Wade C. Wilkes
(1) Wilkes and Andrews were the first to record humorist Jerry Clower on a record and handled the comedian's first albums.
Edwin "Ed" Wilkes (June 18, 1931 – December 21, 1998), known professionally as Big Ed Wilkes, was a popular radio personality in Lubbock, Texas, who combined humor with hard news reporting on his own morning talk show on station KRFE (580 AM).
Wilkes was born to C.E. Wilkes (1903–1980) and Ruby G. Wilkes (1906–1995) in Blue Mountain in Logan County, near Fort Smith, Arkansas. His family moved to Lubbock on Christmas Eve, 1942, when Ed was eleven. He graduated from Lubbock High School and earned a degree in agricultural economics from Texas Tech University. A Phi Gamma Delta fraternity brother gave him his nickname "Big Ed". Years later, Wilkes received the Outstanding Agriculturalist Award from the Texas Tech College of Agricultural Sciences in 1985. In 1987, the Tech Ex-Students Association gave him its Distinguished Service Award.
After college graduation, Wilkes taught vocational agriculture in Graham in Young County south of Wichita Falls, and he thereafter became sales manager for the National Peat Moss Company. On February 17, 1962, Wilkes married the former Marsha Dowdy, a noted visual artist. He left National Peat Moss because of the heavy travel schedule and joined KFYO (AM) in Lubbock as a farm broadcaster, a position that he held until 1979.
...
Wikipedia