Edgar Puryear, professor emeritus at Georgetown University and a self-styled “country lawyer,” died Aug. 4, 2018, at age 88.
Puryear graduated from the University of Maryland in 1952, and was then commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Air Force. In 1955 he began serving in the newly founded Air Force Academy as an air training officer for its first three classes, as well as a boxing coach, debate coach, and navigation instructor.
He taught political science, mentored seven cadets who won Rhodes scholarships, and was an assistant dean when he left in 1964. While serving in the Air Force, he earned a master’s degree at the University of Denver in 1956 and a Ph.D. in politics from Princeton in 1959. From 1964 to 1967, he taught at the University of Virginia Extension Center while earning a law degree from the University of Virginia in 1967.
Puryear practiced law in Madison, Va., for more than 40 years. He also taught at Georgetown University from 1983 to 2000, guiding 18 students to Rhodes scholarships. Puryear wrote six books on the military and was an active community leader.
He was predeceased by his wife, Agnes, and a son. Puryear is survived by three sons, nine grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.
Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.