Edwin E. Edel, 81, of The Villages, FL, passed from this life Saturday, September 27, 2014. Born in Baltimore, MD on October 3, 1932, he was the son of Ethel Harrison and Dietrich H. Edel. He attended high school at City College in Baltimore, was a graduate of the University of Maryland and was an U.S. Army veteran. In his early career (1961-1967), he served with the Association of American Railroads in Washington, D.C edited the U.S. rail industry’s weekly Information Letter and handled public affairs for the National Railway Conference. In 1967, Edel became the first Director of Public Affairs for the Federal Railroad Administration and was instrumental in gaining public and Congressional approval of the experimental Metroliner, Turbotrain and Tracked Air Cushion Vehicle test projects. During the 1970-1971 transition period, Edel served as Executive Assistant to the Board of Incorporators of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation. In July, 1971, he became NRPC’s (later known as AMTRAK) first Vice-President of Public Affairs, dealing with the national media, congressional committees, cabinet departments and state and local agencies. In 1979, he was appointed Vice-President of Seaboard Coastline Industries. In 1980, Seaboard merged with the Chessie System Railroad to form CSX. He became CSX’s first Vice-President of Corporate Communications, responsible for market research, investor relations, public relations and employee communications. During his career, Edel served on the Boards of numerous civic and political organizations including the Maryland Taxpayer’s Assoc. He was the founder of both the Anne Arundel Taxpayer’s Assoc. and the West County Republican Club. He served on the Boards of the Richmond, VA Boys’ Club, the Richmond Economic Development Council and the Jacksonville, FL Committee of 100. He was a 45 year member of the Annapolis Yacht Club and served as Rear Commodore in 1992. Mr. Edel is survived by his wife (Chris), two sons (Bruce,Thomas), two grandchildren (Katekyn, Matthew) and sister (Julie Bird). A celebration of his life will be held at Beyers Funeral Home (Lady Lake Chapel) at 3:00 p.m., on Friday, October 10th. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to The Wounded Warrior Project P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675 or The Villagers for Hospice, 601 Casa Bella, The Villages, FL. 32162.