Edmund Sumner, Homeless Veteran Laid to Rest by Church Family

Large crowd attends homeless Knoxville veteran’s funeral
WKEN News
Lori Tucker
Published: April 6, 2017

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) – A crowd turned out Wednesday at East Tennessee Veterans Cemetery to say goodbye to a man most of them had never met.

He was an Air Force veteran who died homeless with no remaining family members to plan his services, but the community stepped up.

Edmund W. Sumner was a veteran of the Air Force during the Vietnam era. He had become homeless in recent years, but on this day, he had a large family who turned out to honor his years of service.

The 61-year-old’s funeral Wednesday had full military honors. A United States flag draped his casket to honor the memory of his service to America. Sumner’s pastor was presented with the tri-folded flag as a keepsake.

While most of Sumner’s biological family is gone, he found a new spiritual family through his church.
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