Ronald Andrea Eddings

(Due to Covid-19 concerns, all who attend memorial service are REQUIRED to wear a face mask and practice social distancing)

God called our beloved Ronald Andrea Eddings home unexpectedly on Saturday, October 10th, 2020. He was sixty-one.

Ron was a standout athlete at Asheville High School where he played baseball, basketball and football.  Under Coach Gene Hammonds, he was an All-Conference performer earning a baseball scholarship to Howard University.  Due to a knee injury he returned to Asheville where he joined the US Navy. He married his first wife, the late Joan Reynolds Eddings; their union blessed them with two children, Landen and Brittney Eddings.  After divorce, he later met and married Velma Byrd, and after 12 years of marriage they remained close friends until his passing.

Ron wanted to show people they can make mistakes and not give up. It was his mission to inspire people to persevere. He met Jack and Scottie Barnes of Forgiving Ministries in Hickory, NC. They mentored him and showed him a new way of life after running into personal issues and setbacks. After a stint in prison he became a motivational speaker and traveled with Scottie Barnes, speaking in prisons around the country to prior offenders. He wanted them to know that change was possible. 

Ron was featured in The Hickory Daily record and appeared in the Charlotte Observer and a guest on UNCTV as an advocate for offenders. In 2007 he co-authored the book "THIS IS WHY WE CRY" with his then-wife, Velma. In 2008 a screenplay was written about his life, "FROM MY EYES," The Ron Eddings Story, and was a finalist at the 2008 Cinema City international Film Festival in Hollywood, CA. He later wrote his first children's book, titled "Little Dude" that pictured his grandson Quilian Swain on the front cover. Before his passing, he was in the process of finishing his autobiography.

He attended Catawba Valley Community College and was voted Student Government President by his peers and an honoree member of the CVVC Board of Trustees. He later earned a Bachelor Of Arts Degree in Social and Criminal Justice at Ashford University.

Ron was preceded in death by his father Fred Smith. He is survived by his Mother Betty Eddings, children Landen Eddings (Alison) and Brittney Eddings Watkins (James), brothers Derrick Eddings, Eric Eddings, Stephen (Mont) Eddings, Frederick Clayton (Carolyn), Craig Smith, and Rodrick Smith, sisters Vanessa Clayton, Yvette Smith, Tijuana Green (Chuck), and Monica Daniels, grandchildren Quilian Swain, Brooklyn Eddings, and Naomi Watkins, ex-wife Velma Eddings, childhood best-friend Phillip(Bullet) Ashley, and a host of other family members and friends.

A Memorial Service to honor the life of Mr. Ronald Eddings will be held on Saturday October 17, at 3pm at the Worldwide Baptist Tabernacle located on 85 Choctaw St. in Asheville. There will be no live streaming of the service.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Ronald Andrea Eddings, please visit our floral store.