Carroll  Edmonson April 19, 1959 - July 8, 2023

Carroll Michael Edmonson, age 64, of Cincinnati, Ohio, was called to eternal rest on Saturday, July 8, 2023, surrounded by loved ones. As he was welcomed into heaven, family members and friends watched in awe as the clouds literally cleared a path for his homegoing. A celebration of his life will be held on Friday, July 28, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. at the Walker Funeral Home Chapel. The family will receive friends for fellowship following the service.

To say he was special is an understatement. Carroll, or Mike as he was known to his friends, made an impression on everyone he met and his imprint on our lives will never fade. The ninth of ten children, he was born on April 19, 1959, in Cincinnati, Ohio to Calvin and Dorothy Edmonson. Although the family lived in Lincoln Heights and Avondale for a time, they finally settled in Kennedy Heights. And it is in Kennedy Heights where Mike hit his stride. It is there where he grew up, went to church and school, met his life-long friends, and fell in love with a neighborhood that he faithfully returned to every year for the Annual Kennedy Heights/Silverton Cookout to reconnect and reminisce with those friends.

One of Mike's greatest passions was sports, especially football. When he was little, he played for the Ken-Sil team and then went on to play for both Shroder Junior High and Woodward High School as a defensive back. He was even recruited by several colleges including Oklahoma State his senior year in high school. However, choosing service and adventure over football, after graduating from Woodward High School in 1977, he joined the Marines. While in the Marines, he got to see more of the United States including North Carolina and Louisiana but his most cherished memory from that time in his life was getting to go to Japan. His most regrettable souvenir from that time was his short-lived marriage to Shelia ( a marriage so fleeting, no one in the family can remember her last name).

Before leaving for the Marines, Mike experienced one of the greatest joys of his life, the birth of his son Shawnta with his high school sweetheart, Renee Robinson. He thoroughly enjoyed being a father and spending time with his son who would accompany him on many of his road trips to visit family.

After being discharged from the Marines, Mike began working for the Cincinnati Board of Education as a Resource Officer at his alma mater, Woodward High School. He truly loved his job and was a natural with the kids who affectionately called him Mr. E. It should be noted, however, that being a true Edmonson, like his father before him, he always had a second job. At one time he delivered USA Today papers at night.

Another time, he worked for Jan Co and cleaned offices at night. His last night gig was with LSI where he helped weld and transport light poles. Mike retired from the board in 2017 after more than 20 years only to return the following year as a Resource Officer at Rockdale before retiring for good in 2022.

While it is true Mike loved sports, dogs, and working for the board, his greatest passions were his family, his son, and cooking. No Thanksgiving was complete without his famous stir-fried vegetables and no summer was complete without one of his epic cookouts with everything from grilled salmon, bar-be-cue chicken, strawberry salad, hamburgers stuffed with spinach, grilled vegetables, and cheesy potatoes. Every ingredient was carefully selected, perfectly seasoned, expertly grilled, and served with love. The other non-negotiable feature of every summer was the Edmonson brothers' trip to Troy to spend Father's Day with Daddy with a stopover in Birmingham on the way. This trip included lots of brotherly comradery, laughter, food, and a healthy dose of moonshine.

In 1997, Mike was sitting alone in the King of Clubs having a drink when a woman with what he described as 'a beautiful face and sexy legs' walked into the club. There for just a quick trip to the bathroom, she was surprised when he spoke to her and asked her name. Her name was Stephanie Montgomery, and she became the love of his life and his soul mate. After their first encounter, he started calling her regularly and showing up at the places she frequented. While it is true Mike (or Shadid as she calls him) loved her 'beautiful face and sexy legs', it was her love of family, strong work ethic, and fiery spirit that ultimately won him over. She says she resisted at first, but his persistence worked and they were inseparable from that moment on and he will continue to live in her heart.

Carroll is survived by his soulmate, Stephanie Montgomery, his son Shawnta Robinson, his siblings, Anna Marie Morris, Bruce Edmonson, Jeffery Edmonson (Diane), Kim Edmonson, Dorothea Edmonson, Tonia Meadows (Curtis), Georgetta Appleton (Kenneth), and Craig Edmonson (Sonya), his nieces and nephews, Shawn, Velinda, Jeffery I, Jeffery II, Tisa, Christopher, Kary, Nadine, Nassar, Oya, Sojourner, Kenneth, and Adrian and numerous great-nieces and great-nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents Calvin and Dorothy Edmonson, his sister Hope Johnson Taylor, and his grandparents Jeffery McGrady and Byrdie Campbell and Oscar and Pearl Edmonson.