Dr. Edward Earl Litkenhous, Jr. “Ed”, age 90, passed peacefully at home on August 13, 2025. He was born June 3, 1935, in Akron, Ohio to Edward Earl Litkenhous, Sr. and Lenore Ingwalson Litkenhous. He was raised in Nashville, Tennessee where he attended Montgomery Bell Academy. He then attended Vanderbilt University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering in 1957. He received his M.D. from Vanderbilt in 1961. He interned at the University of Virginia in internal medicine, followed by a residency in pathology at Vanderbilt University.
Ed married Caffey Smith in 1959. They raised their children, Edward and Anna, in Huntsville, Alabama. They found joy in family, friends, tennis, and church.
Following his residency at Vanderbilt, Ed established a career at Pathology Associates in Huntsville, Alabama, and helped build the practice into what it is today. He became President of the Madison County Medical Society and earned the role of Chief of Staff at Huntsville Hospital.
Ed was a loyal and faithful member of The Episcopal Church of The Nativity where he served as a Sunday School teacher and a Stephen Minister. He found purpose in serving his community and helping others.
Ed was preceded in death by his parents, Edward Earl Litkenhous, Sr. and Lenore Ingwalson Litkenhous. He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Caffey Smith Litkenhous; his brother, Linn Litkenhous (Sandy); his son, Edward Earl Litkenhous, III (Susanna); his daughter, Anna Merritt (Jimmy); grandchildren, Gus Merritt, Alston Cox (Rivver), Meg Yeackle (Josh); and four great-grandchildren, Beckett, Coburn, Finn, and Oliver.
A memorial service will be Tuesday, August 19, 2025, at the Episcopal Church of the Nativity at 2 p.m. Reception to follow.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Huntsville Hospital Foundation or the Episcopal Church of the Nativity.
