Like many 20th-century politicians from Avoyelles, Mr. Edwards assumed he had Cajun ancestry, but he may have had none. Mr. Edwards graduated from Louisiana State University’s law school and began practice in Crowley, La., in 1949. But freewheeling southern Louisiana was recording surges in voting populations and prosperity from offshore oil and gas discoveries. He won his 1971 race for the governorship as a reformer with heavy support from Southern Cajun, Creole and Black voters. In addition to his wife and their son, Mr. Edwards is survived by his children from his first marriage, 16 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.

Source: New York Times July 12, 2021 14:43 UTC