Services Will Be Wednesday for James Edwards Sr.
NEWPORT BEACH — A memorial service will be held Wednesday for James Edwards Sr., the Orange County theater magnate who died during the weekend after being pulled from the waters off his home on Newport Island.
The service will begin 11 a.m. at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church at 600 St. Andrews Road in Newport Beach.
Edwards will be buried later in the day after a family ceremony at a Newport Beach cemetery, said Don Barton, Edwards’ grandson and a vice president with Edwards Theatres Circuit Inc.
Edwards, 90, apparently suffered a heart attack and fell into the bay about 1 p.m. Saturday while tending to powerboats moored at his home, family members said. Edwards was discovered by his wife, Bernice, and was pulled from the water by neighbors who heard her screams for assistance.
He died shortly after being taken by paramedics to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach, said Lt. John Blauer of the city’s fire and marine departments.
Edwards founded the company that now operates more than 500 movie screens in California.
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