Edgar Aden Painter, Iii

Surrounded by his loving family, Edgar (Ed, Eddie) Aden Painter, III, age 74 of Dalton, passed away Sunday, August 7, 2022, at Erlanger Hospital ICU, Chattanooga, TN.  He was preceded in death by his parents, Edgar (Ed) Aden Painter Jr. and Pat Painter Smith, both of Dalton, GA; and brother, Johnny Painter, of Chattanooga, TN.

He is survived by his wife, Yong Son (Kwon) Painter of Dalton; daughter and son-in-law, Susan and Juan Lama, of Dalton; brother and sister-in-law, Joey and Kathleen Painter, of Hiawassee, GA; grandchildren Zach and Jill Lama, of Raleigh, NC; Hunter and Angie Lama of Wilmington, NC; Nick Lama, Cristian Lama and Lele Lama of Dalton; great-grandson, Caleb Lama, of Raleigh, NC; sister-in-law, Susan Zetty Painter of Carrollton, TX; and special cousins, Pat Painter and Mike Brumlow, of Dalton.

In 1966, Ed graduated from and played football for Dalton High School. After graduation, he felt it was his duty to serve his country and enlisted in the Army. He was a Captain in the infantry in Vietnam and served two tours from 1966-1973. After the army, he worked for his father at Reliance Industries as a salesman and manager and then for Burrough's Computer Corporation as a computer programmer and salesman. He graduated from Dalton Junior College where he received three associate degrees and attended the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business. Ed started video transfer work located inside Finley’s Studio in 1984 and later was co-owner of Fast Foto in 1990 until the time of his passing.

Ed was active in all his grandchildren’s lives.  Ed loved watching his grandsons, Nick and Cristian, play football for Dalton High and never left his house without his DHS cap. He loved watching his granddaughter, Lele, dance since she was two years old for the Dance Theater of Dalton and was especially proud when she was Clara in the Nutcracker her freshman year. Ed was proud of his grandsons, Zach, Marine veteran, and Hunter, retired Air Force veteran, who works with the Army Core of Engineers.  Ed was an avid deer hunter and a great shooting marksman. He taught his daughter and grandchildren how to shoot and hunt at an early age.

Ed was a Certified Mandated Reserve Officer with the Whitfield County Sheriff's Department since 1985 and many years later he was an Honorary Retired Reserve Officer. Ed helped form a shooting range club and served on the board as range officer.  He volunteered much of his time in support of the preservation of the Second Amendment. He was an NRA shooting instructor and held pistol training classes for women. He was one of the first members of the local Republican Tea Party. He was the leader in forming the 14th District Republican Party to what it is today.

Ed was selected by Governor Nathan Deal in 2013 as one of the few people in the state to serve on the Joint Study Committee on Medicaid Reform. He served as Chairman of the 14th District Republican GOP Committee from 2017-2019. He unselfishly volunteered his time to the Republican Party in NWGA daily.  He also served on committees at the state level for the Republican GOP. He was passionate about his beliefs and devoted all his extra time to his volunteer services. He was a man of his word, and you could always depend on him to help with whatever was needed. He will be greatly missed.

Funeral Services to celebrate Ed’s life will be held Thursday, August 18, 2022, at 4:00 p.m. at Love Funeral Home.  The family will receive friends from 1:00-4:00 p.m. at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Whitfield County Republican Party, PO Box 1865, Dalton, GA 30722, or the Humane Society of NWGA https://hsnwga.org/ .

The family would like to thank Dr. Lisa Duhaime, Oncologist, and Dr. Rafael Duchesne, Nephrologist, for their very loving and exceptional care for Ed over the past year.