As I stated in my article last weekend, our thanks to Ed Seipp for his many years of serving as business manager in our parish. Ed is now working with Jim Edwards who is transitioning into the position of business manager. Please join me in welcoming Jim to our staff!
Jim Edwards was born and raised in the Va. Beach, Virginia area. He received his undergraduate degree in criminal justice, with a minor in business, from Va. Commonwealth University in Richmond. After college he worked for two years as a state parole officer and then entered the US Air Force. Jim was trained as a navigator and had assignments at bases in New York and California. Jim obtained a master’s degree in Systems Management from the University of Southern California while serving in the military.
Jim left the Air Force in 1987 and joined the FBI as a Special Agent. He completed agent training at the FBI Academy in Quantico, VA, where he met his wife, Laurie. Jim was assigned to the FBI office in Joplin, MO, while Laurie was assigned to the Dallas office. After dating “long distance” for two years, Jim and Laurie were married and Laurie moved to Joplin. Jim and Laurie have two children, Nathan and Elizabeth, who were born while the family lived in southwest Missouri. Jim investigated a variety of federal offenses while in Joplin, but specialized in economic and financial crimes.
Jim later had assignments at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C., and Colorado Springs, CO, before moving to the Metro East area in 2006, where he became supervisor of the Fairview Heights FBI office. Jim retired from the FBI in 2010, and later joined Walmart’s Corporate Investigations group in Bentonville, AR. While working for Walmart, Jim had assignments in India and China forming and then managing teams of investigators. After almost five years with Walmart, Jim joined Caterpillar’s Corporate Investigations team in Peoria. When not traveling for Caterpillar, Jim lived in Peoria during the week and returned home to O’Fallon on weekends. Jim retired again in early 2020 and returned to O’Fallon to live “full-time.” Jim and Laurie have joined the local St. Vincent de Paul conference, where they are “learning the ropes” on how to serve those in need in the local area. Jim and Laurie enjoying biking the new Goshen bike trail, and Jim is just starting to learn how to play the electric guitar.
Jim was raised Presbyterian and joined the Catholic Church after moving to O’Fallon. Jim and Laurie have been St. Clare parishioners for over seven years and attended Catholic churches in Gurgaon, India, and Shanghai, while living abroad. Both consider their overseas assignments as faith enriching experiences, having been fortunate to live in two culturally rich and diverse, as well as heavily populated countries.
Jim’s past investigative and management experiences bring unique skill sets to the job of parish business manager. Having experience in both the public and corporate worlds, Jim understands the importance of being a “good steward” of funds entrusted with parish staff. He has an engaging personality, which was very helpful when he worked as an investigator and interacting with people in other countries where language differences can create barriers to effective communication. Jim’s faith in God, supported by his life partner, Laurie, drive him to be a faithful steward to his family, friends, to those in need, as well as members of St. Clare Parish.