CULLMAN, Ala. – Eddie Wilson had planned to pick up a bag of seeds for The Foundry Farm.
In its remembrance of the farm’s director, the North Alabama Agriplex said it would make sure those seeds reached their destination.
“We will make sure those seeds make it to The Foundry so they can keep growing on the foundations that Eddie started,” the organization said.
Eddie Dale Wilson, 62, of Hartselle, died unexpectedly Wednesday, Oct. 28, according to his obituary. He began serving with The Foundry Ministries in 2006 and became program director of its Cullman County farm in 2014.
Through gardens, a hen house, expanded housing and a chapel, Wilson worked with residents, volunteers and community partners to develop the farm’s recovery program. In interviews over the years, he described those projects in terms of what they could offer the men who came there seeking help.
The Agriplex remembered someone willing to learn so he could teach others.
“Eddie wanted to learn more about farming to share with the residents at the Foundry,” its statement said.
He began with chickens and a small garden, then enrolled in a small-farm class at Wallace State Community College, according to the Agriplex. He laid plastic, built high tunnels and expanded production.
The farm now produces enough vegetables and eggs to share with residents at other Foundry locations, the organization said.
“Eddie was an amazing man always with a smile and a good attitude,” the Agriplex said.
Wilson’s connection to recovery was personal. In a 2021 Alabama Poultry magazine feature, he spoke about receiving help through The Foundry for alcohol and cocaine addiction and credited his faith and the ministry with changing his life.
He explained that farm work taught residents habits they could carry into other occupations: arriving on time, caring for their work areas and adapting when circumstances changed.
“We want to give them hope that they can take back to their families,” Wilson told the magazine.
That purpose appeared throughout the Tribune and CullmanSense archives.
In April 2015, Wilson discussed the Rebuild Campaign, an effort to expand housing and dining facilities at the farm. At the time, fire-code concerns had reduced the number of residents the program could accommodate, and Wilson said more men needed help.
“It is so much more than just the building,” he said in that interview.
He described contributions to the project as support for families and people working to rebuild their lives.
In April 2018, The Tribune covered the dedication of Black-Sanders Hall, an 80-bed dormitory named in memory of Thomas Anderson Black and Donald Wayne Sanders. The project addressed housing and fire-code needs at the campus between Holly Pond and Berlin.
By June 2020, another community-supported project was ready: a hen house stocked with 300 laying hens donated by Lee Haynes of Haynes Farms and Nature’s Best Eggs.
Wilson explained that residents would learn poultry-care and egg-production skills under farm manager David Hall. Eggs would help feed residents in Cullman and at the ministry’s other campuses.
“Its sole purpose is employment-readiness to teach program participants about the poultry industry as it pertains to laying hens and egg production,” Wilson said.
He credited local donors and volunteers for the building, equipment and labor, and supporter David Ozment for helping develop the idea.
The farm’s chapel grew from another conversation about space.
In a January 2023 interview with The Tribune, Wilson recalled that community volunteers were leading Monday evening Bible studies in a room that had become too small. The same room served as a gathering place for Wednesday and Sunday worship.
Wilson credited Stanley Dye, a longtime pastor and member of Cullman First Baptist Church, with helping turn the need into a building project through community contributions of money, materials and labor.
The chapel would give residents room to worship with their children, spouses, parents and other loved ones. It would also provide space for classes and connections with other Foundry campuses.
“We may never really know the lives that will be saved and the families restored,” Wilson said in that interview.
The Foundry describes its farm program as providing counseling, education, employment preparation, spiritual guidance and aftercare for men seeking recovery.
Survivors include his wife, Ellen Wilson; stepson, Zac Flannagin Sr.; nephew, Zach Wilson; five stepgrandchildren; two stepgreat-grandchildren; and other relatives. His sister, Lisa Wilson, preceded him in death.
Visitation will be Saturday, Oct. 31, from noon-2 p.m. at The Foundry Farm Chapel, 575 County Road 1676, Cullman. A celebration of life will follow at 2 p.m.
His obituary says the service will also be livestreamed on The Foundry Ministries’ Facebook page.
The family requests donations in place of flowers to the Eddie Wilson Memorial Scholarship Fund through The Foundry Ministries. The fund will help men seeking recovery.
At the Agriplex, the plan is to deliver the seeds.
“We will miss you, friend!” its statement said.
