James E. "Ed" Lawson, 96, of Rock Island, formerly of Milan, died Monday, April 17, 2017 at the Silver Cross Nursing Center, Rock Island. Private services will be Thursday at the Wheelan-Pressly Funeral Home and Crematory, Milan. Burial will be at the Reynolds Cemetery, where military honors will be presented by the Reynolds American Legion Post 1166. Memorials may be made to the Quad City Animal Welfare Center, Milan. Ed was born Sept. 28, 1920 in Gauley Bridge, W.V., a son of James G. and Frances I. McClellan Lawson. He married Faye J. Vetter on March 19, 1950 at the Church of Peace United Church of Christ in Rock Island. He had worked as a crane operator and later farmed in the Milan area. Ed had also been a dealer for Heritage Fencing. Ed was a WW II U.S. Navy veteran and served in the South Pacific, receiving a Purple Heart for wounds received in action. He was a past president of the Rock Island County farm Bureau and member of the Reynolds American Legion Post 1166, Aledo V.F.W. Post 1571 and the Rock Island County Voiture No. 237 of the 40 & 8. Survivors include his wife, Faye; sisters, Beulah Sloan, Andover, Ill., and Sally Doss of California; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Everett, Elmer, Bert, Jeff, Harold, Roy, Paul, Darrell, Arthur; and sisters, Gladys Hampton and Irene Hampton. The family wishes to thank Silver Cross Nursing Center and Heartland Hospice for the compassionate care given to Ed during his illness. Online condolences may be left at wheelanpressly.com.