Joan Hartley Edinger

Joan ("Jo") Hartley Edinger, age 82, dear wife of Paul Richard ("Dick") Edinger and much loved mother of Cynthia Teal Thawley and Diana Leigh Edinger, died on Saturday, March 31, 2012, from complications of Alzheimer's Disease, in Houston, TX. Jo was born December 12, 1929, to Thomas Hartley and Hazel Price Hartley, in Pittsburgh, PA. Jo grew up in Rices Landing, PA (south of Pittsburgh). She had fond memories of a childhood spent there with her close-knit family. She attended Penn State, majoring in Home Economics, where she met and courted Dick (the courtship included taking him donuts after his chem labs on Saturday mornings). Jo and Dick graduated in June 1951, were married a week later on June 16, 1951, in California, PA, and the week after that moved to Houston, TX. They subsequently lived in Chatham, NJ, Chicago, IL, Charlotte, NC (where their daughters were born), and Ridgewood, NJ, before returning to Houston where they have resided since 1970. Jo was reserved, yet loving; quiet, yet impish at times. She was unpretentious, gracious, and caring – she was a good person, Dick's "good girl". She had high standards and was a proper lady, unfailingly polite, even in the later stages of Alzheimer's. Jo was a wonderful wife, an exceptional mother, a loving grandmother, a gourmet cook who also baked delicious homemade sweets, a shopper extraordinaire, and a lover of dogs. She traveled extensively with her husband to all fifty states and fifty two countries on every continent except Antarctica. They enjoyed fine dining, often traveling to locations near and far for the specific purpose of trying out a highly rated restaurant. Jo belonged to an exercise group that she attended faithfully for almost forty years. She was a lifelong Presbyterian and, since living in Houston, a member of Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church. Jo was predeceased by her parents, her sister Lois Teal Hartley, and her son-in-law William Gregg Thawley. Jo is survived by her husband of 60 years, Dick, her daughters Cynthia and Diana, her grandchildren Allison Price Thawley and Gregg Brelsford Thawley, and her most recent schnauzer companion, Phoebe. The family wishes to express its thanks to all those who have provided support and comfort as Jo's Alzheimer's Disease progressed, including the caring individuals at The Gathering, Colonial Oaks at Westchase, and A-Med Hospice. Services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 5, 2012, in the Chapel at Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church, 11612 Memorial Drive, Houston, TX. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to the Alzheimer's Association (www.alz.org).