Jeffrey (Jeff) Edwards grew up in a church going, Methodist family in Colorado. He attended the University of Northern Colorado, earning a Bachelor of Music Education degree with a focus on trumpet. After two years as the band director for a small-town school in Nebraska, he auditioned for and was accepted into the United States Air Force Band of the West at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.

Shortly after entering the Air Force, Jeff met Diana, a flautist in the Band of the West. Diana was a single mom and a catholic with strong faith, although she seldom attended church. About three years later, they were married. Jeff was now the stepfather of James and over the next 7 years, became the father of two girls, Melinda and Yolanda. The Edwards family moved to Bandera County when James was 14, Melinda was eight, and Yolanda was two.

When they moved to the Pipe Creek area, Melinda asked her parents why the family didn’t attend church like her friends. After a short discussion, we decided that we would begin attending St. Victor Catholic Church in Lake Hills TX. Diana retired from the Air Force in 1995 and began playing flute during mass at St. Victor’s.

Shortly after Diana retired, she was diagnosed with a rare cancer. Jeff retired in 1999 and joined Diana as music minister at St Victor, playing chords on the organ, while Diana played flute. Jeff returned to school in 2001 and earned an associate's degree in homebuilding. While earning this degree, he realized that he had better-than-average math skills. After taking some math classes at Northwest Vista College in San Antonio, he became certified to teach public school math and taught math for 2 years in the Kerrville School District.

In October of 2006, Diana lost her battle with cancer. Jeff returned to school first at UTSA, then the University of the Incarnate Word, earning a Master of Science in Applied Statistics from the University of the Incarnate Word. He then returned to Northwest Vista College this time as an adjunct Mathematics Instructor. During this time, he continued as music minister at St. Victor Catholic Church.

While attending UTSA, Jeff met Ana, who was attending paralegal classes. They became engaged on Christmas Day of 2008. Jeff had been attending St. Vicor Catholic Church for over ten years and had been serving as music minister for about nine years. For the second time in his life, he had decided to spend the rest of his life with a Catholic woman. This led him to the decision to convert officially to Catholicism. He completed the RCIA program and was confirmed into the Catholic church in the summer of 2009. Ana and Jeff were married in October of 2009.

Jeff retired from teaching mathematics at Northwest Vista College in August 2020. In December of 2024, he began teaching mathematics at Lumen Christi Academy for 7th-12th grade.