{"id":11887,"date":"2019-10-01T22:03:12","date_gmt":"2019-10-01T22:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/10\/01\/2000-plus-attend-funeral-of-florida-veteran-with-no-kin\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:34:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:34:00","slug":"2000-plus-attend-funeral-of-florida-veteran-with-no-kin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2019\/10\/01\/2000-plus-attend-funeral-of-florida-veteran-with-no-kin\/","title":{"rendered":"2,000-plus attend funeral of Florida veteran with no kin"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SARASOTA, Fla. \u2014 Most of the 2,000-plus people who gathered in the Florida heat Tuesday didn\u2019t know Edward Pearson. They knew little, if anything, about the life of the 80-year-old Army veteran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But they knew of his death, and that was reason enough to attend his funeral. They came on rumbling Harley Davidsons and in sleek Mercedes. They walked into the service with the aid of canes and service dogs. Women clasped bouquets of white flowers. Men gripped American flags large and small. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pearson, a resident of Naples, Florida, died Aug. 31. His obituary went viral when the funeral director included this sentence in the service announcement: This veteran has no immediate family and all are welcome to attend<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

News of the ceremony at an open-air pavilion area at the Sarasota National Cemetery spread fast and wide in veterans\u2019 forums and on social media networks. CNN host Jake Tapper and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio tweeted the information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many in the region \u2014 a place with thousands of retirees and veterans \u2014 it was impossible to think they wouldn\u2019t attend. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou know what? There\u2019s no way I\u2019m going to let him do this alone,\u201d said Willie Bowman, 62, a Purple Heart recipient and career Army veteran. \u201cI\u2019ve never met the man. But he\u2019s a veteran and he\u2019s a brother of mine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Edward
Mourners pay their respects during an open funeral service for U.S. Army veteran Edward K. Pearson Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019, at the Sarasota National Cemetary in Sarasota, Fla. Pearson has no family so his funeral home sent out a request on social media for the public to attend the service. (Chris O’Meara\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Pearson was born in Pennsylvania and moved to Florida 25 years ago. He worked at a grocery store for a bit, and at a hardware store. One woman in the community got to know him after Hurricane Irma in 2017: Patty Thrasher, a customer service representative for the Collier County Tax Collector\u2019s office. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The storm had damaged the roof of Pearson\u2019s mobile home. Water rained into the kitchen through a blue tarp and when Pearson sought government aid to help with repairs and needed a title, Thrasher discovered that he didn\u2019t actually own the home at all. The man who sold him the home wasn\u2019t actually the owner, but a swindler who took advantage of an elderly person, she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\t