Edward Broadnax Jr., a proud Marine and retired tire company manager.
He used his military discipline to help raise his three younger sisters.
EDWARD BROADNAX JR. was proud of being a Marine, and he brought some of that military discipline home with him when he was faced with caring for five young sisters.
"Without him, we'd have been wild women," said one of the girls, Deborah Broadnax Woodbury. "He brought that discipline from the service to our home, making us better in our own pursuits.
"Sometimes, it felt like he was the drill sergeant and we were the soldiers."
But Eddie's real motivation was that he cared deeply about his family, and he wanted to take care of the girls the way their mother would have if she hadn't died prematurely.
Eddie, who died Wednesday of renal failure at age 71, was planning on a career in the Marine Corps. But when his mother, Loressia Broadnax, died in 1963, he felt it was his duty to come home and help his father, Edward Broadnax Sr., raise his sisters.
"We are ever so thankful for his guidance and really grew to appreciate his way of nurturing," Deborah said.
Eddie, who lived in Mount Airy, was born in Spray, N.C., the oldest child and only son. When the family came north, they lived for a time in North Philadelphia, but he grew up in South Philadelphia.
He graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School, where he excelled at gymnastics. He was skilled on the pommel horse and rings, and attracted enough attention among colleges that he was offered a number of scholarships.
However, he chose the Marine Corps instead. He served four years and attained the rank of lance corporal.
"He was proud to become a Marine," his sister Deborah said, "and bragged about it all the time at family gatherings."
Eddie also carried his sense of military discipline to his role as Scoutmaster of Troop 375 at Emmanuel Baptist Church.
"He was an excellent role model for inner city youth," his sister said.
Eddie went to work for United Parcel Service after the Marines. When the company moved out of Philadelphia, he joined the B.F. Goodrich Tire Co., from which he retired as a foreman at age 65.
He married Barbara Monroe in 1972, and adopted her daughters, Tracey and Angela. Barbara died in 2001.
Eddie loved music, and the family home resounded with operas like "Porgy and Bess," the jazz of Dave Brubeck's "Take Five" and the silky tones of the Supremes.
He was also the family photographer, a hobby he took seriously enough to invest in the latest in cameras and equipment.
"He would sneak up on you and take your picture before you knew it," Deborah said.
Besides his adopted daughters, his sister and a granddaughter, he is survived by three other sisters, Sandra Burney, Tamara Frazier and Loretta London. He was predeceased by another sister, Gail Burns.
Services: Viewing and service will begin at 5 tonight at the Emmanuel Johnson Funeral Home, 6653 Chew Ave. A graveside service will be held at 10 a.m. tomorrow at Chelten Hills Cemetery.