By Rita McInerney, Staff Writer

ATLANTA--John Edmunds, a volunteer with Catholic Social Services (CSS) Immigration Unit for over 10 years, died Sept. 17. He was 76.

Mr. Edmunds and his wife Jean would have celebrated their 47th wedding anniversary Sept. 18.

A gentle, soft-spoken man, he called using his legal expertise to help immigrants and indigent people “a delightful way to spend retirement.”

His selfless service was not limited to legal briefs and courtroom arguments; he was a friend to many immigrants, finding them to be hardworking, law-abiding people grateful for a chance to live and raise their children in the United States.

His volunteerism for CSS added up to a great deal more than a few hours weekly. He came daily to the Catholic Center for his immigration assistance work, served on the agency’s strategic planning committee and was secretary on the Catholic Housing Initiatives board, according to Pam Buckmaster, director of the archdiocesan agency.

Mrs. Buckmaster said “he was a man of many interests and many commitments. We at CSS were privileged to work with him on several levels and projects and to provide him with some means--a simple office and access to people in need--to make a difference in this world. And that is exactly what John did. He was a passionate advocate for our clients and was very serious about what he did.”

“On Monday, after I received a call from his wife about his death, I passed by his office to see that some of the staff had placed a lighted candle on his desk. John was a light of hope, joy and love for all of us,” Mrs. Buckmaster said.

He worked with Sue Colussy, an attorney and a fellow Presbyterian who is program director for Immigration Services. He was, she said, “a remarkable man who gave so much to so many people. He epitomized what a lawyer ought to be in his ethics and his pro bono work.”

He was a role model for the law students who interned with Immigration Services, she added.

Recognition for Mr. Edmunds’ work included being chosen from among 100 volunteers in the Atlanta area for the J.C. Penney’s Volunteer of the Year award in 1992.

In a Georgia Bulletin article on his selection, Mrs. Colussy was quoted as saying that Mr. Edmunds “helps people who fall through the cracks,” people who don’t qualify for legal aid or who have issues most attorneys wouldn’t touch.

For his 75th birthday in June, 1995, CSS observed “John Edmunds Day” with festivities including a framed proclamation signed by Archbishop John F. Donoghue.

A native of Columbia, Tenn., Mr. Edmunds grew up in Hopkinsville, KY. A graduate of Vanderbilt University, he spent four years with the Army Air Corps during World War II. He was a graduate of Yale Law School.

Before his retirement in 1984, he was a regional counsel for the Southern states with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He and his wife, also a Kentuckian, moved to Atlanta in 1955. They are the parents of two sons, Thomas and John, and grandparents of four boys.

Mr. Edmunds joined Oglethorpe Presbyterian Church in 1955 and served as an elder since 1963. He also volunteered with the Christian Council of Metropolitan Atlanta.

Funeral services were to be held Sept. 21 at 11 a.m. at Oglethorpe Presbyterian Church with the Rev. Rod Stone presiding. A reception was to follow the services. Interment was private. Friends were invited to call the evening of Sept. 20 at H.M. Patterson and Son, Oglethorpe Hill.

The eulogy was to be given by Mr. Edmunds’ CSS colleague Sue Colussy and CSS staff were providing food for family and friends following the funeral service.

A memorial fund in Mr. Edmunds’ name is being established at CSS. Donations may be made in his name to Catholic Social Services, 680 W. Peachtree St., N.W., Atlanta 30308.