Bridgeton Street Re-Naming Means More to Sons of ‘Big Jim’ Edwards, Community
An empty street sign pole stands next to Edwards & Son Funeral Home. Pine Street will be renamed after the funeral home's founder James D. "Big Jim" Edwards on Dec. 21, 2025. Photo courtesy of Richard Todd Edwards Facebook
BY CLYDE HUGHES | AC JosepH Media
BRIDGETON — CompleteCare Health Network‘s President and CEO J. Curtis Edwards said he is happy to be alive to see a street named after his father — the late James D. “Big Jim” Edwards — on Sunday, Dec. 21.
Edwards on Tuesday was in the hospital on Thanksgiving recovering from a heart attack after playing basketball. Now on the mend, the Bridgeton city councilman said he is thrilled to see part of Pine Street, next to Edwards & Son Funeral Home, being named for his father.
“I was recovering from what they call the ‘widow maker,'” Edwards told Front Runner New Jersey.com. “While my heart needed some attention, I’m glad to see this street re-naming at the end of the day. It was a council decision to honor him. It’s an honor that my council colleagues unanimously decided to do this.”
James Edwards founded his funeral home in 1990 in Salem and opened another in Bridgeton in 1993. The family business remains one of the business anchors in its Bridgeton neighborhood for more than three decades. Edwards was a huge supporter of local at-risk youth, fostering numerous local children until his death in 2016.
“Everyone on council knew him as a guy with a big heart,” J. Curtis Edwards said. “He liked helping the community and ran a successful business here for more than 30 years.”
Edwards’ brother, Richard Todd Edwards, who runs the family business today with funeral director Dennis Bundy, said he was surprised when he received the letter about the renaming. Richard Todd Edwards, who lives on the current Pine Street, will now live on a street named after his father.
“My driver’s license will have the name of my father as the street I live on,” Richard Todd Edwards said. “Everything I do is to make the family name proud. Me and my brother’s goal is to keep the name alive. [The street re-naming] is a hell of a testament.”
There will be a brief ceremony at 4 p.m. Sunday where the public is invited to attend. It will be followed by a gathering.
“This is a great honor for him,” said Bundy, who served under the elder Edwards and his son. “His heart was as big as he was, and he stood 6-foot-6. Now, we’re still here serving the community with the same commitment that he created and being there for those in need.”
Edward Bethea, Bridgeton City Council president, said council had recently re-named streets for such leaders as retired Union Temple Baptist Church Rev. Albert Morgan and the late Cumberland County Commissioner Jack Surrency.
Bethea said Edwards was a person who cared for the entire community and his presence – figurative and literally – was larger than life.
“Sometimes we can’t always do these things while they can smell their roses, but their footprint was long and we want to make sure that they are not forgotten,” Bethea said. “Big Jim Edwards was another one of those individuals. He was an entrepreneur, ran funeral homes in Bridgeton and Salem for years. We felt it was important to us to recognize him.”
In Bethea’s upcoming Sunday remarks made available to Front Runner New Jersey.com, the council president called Edwards a “role model” and an indelible part of the community.
“James ‘Big Jim’ Edwards was a true pioneer and trailblazer in South Jersey — especially throughout Cumberland and Salem counties and in the City of Bridgeton,” Bethea said in his comments. “Big Jim was more than an entrepreneur. He was a role model and a father figure to many, including me. His larger-than-life personality and warm spirit lit up every room he entered.
“Being in his presence made you feel valued — like family. He was always willing to offer a helping hand, wise counsel, or words of encouragement when you needed them most. In honor of his enduring legacy, we are naming Pine Street — home to Edwards & Son Funeral Home and Services — as a lasting testament to his life’s work, his commitment, and the countless families he served with dignity, compassion, and care over the years.”
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