Our mother told us recently, “I’ve had a long life, and a good life.” And so she did, passing away peacefully July 9th 2018 just after her 97th birthday. Edith (“Ede”) was born in Portland on June 23rd, 1921, the eldest of five children to an Oregon railroad man and his bride from Galveston, Texas. Her father was a bridge inspector for Southern Pacific Railroad. As a result, she had a lifelong love of trains and enjoyed many a rail journey, beginning as a child back and forth to Galveston to visit grandparents during the summer.
She graduated from Franklin High School, where she met her future husband Fred, and went on to graduate from St. Helens Hall Junior College. During the war she worked as a switchboard operator at Union Station, typically the graveyard shift. This meant she took the street car from her home at Mt. Tabor then walked alone over the Broadway Bridge at midnight. She and her colleagues were also known as “Hello Girls,” after the famous WWI female switchboard operators. Following WWII, she lived in Cambridge for three years working as a secretary in the physics department, while Fred attended Harvard Law School.
Ede referred to herself a “professional volunteer,” beginning with her years working for Multnomah Association for Retarded Children. During the 60s and 70s, she was a pioneer along with other parents, championing the rights of developmentally disabled children to gain special education. For many years, she was a Camp Fire Girl Leader for developmentally disabled girls including summer day camp and won a national award for her service. She was also a Boy Scout Leader for handicapped boys, until the program became managed by special education professionals. She supported Albertina’s Kitchen by cooking twice a month for 20 years, until retiring at the age of 80.
Ede and Fred lived off NW Skyline Blvd. for nearly 50 years where together they raised three children. She was devoted to Fred, who passed away in 1985, and supported him throughout his entire career as a trial lawyer. Ede was an avid seamstress all her life, sewing and altering clothes, and later finding great pleasure making dozens of colorful patchwork quilts for family and friends. Last year at the age of 96, she made one last quilt with the help of her good friend, Sue.
During her active years, Ede was a good athlete. She bowled weekly in a league for many years, and played a decent game of golf into her 80s, especially at Portland Golf Club and Astoria Golf and Country Club. She loved traveling—with her husband to places like Mexico, Hawaii or just their Surf Pines beach home, and on her own to England, Croatia and Hungary for visits with her daughter, Ann. She was an avid bridge player most of her life. Up until a few years ago, she loved hosting her bridge foursome at Surf Pines where they played from dawn to dusk.
Ede was an ardent sports fan whether it was basketball, football or baseball and enjoyed repeatedly beating her son and grandson at March Madness. She loved spending time with her three grandchildren and would drop everything to do so, for she was a consummate grandmother. By far, her favorite activity was spending time with her family.
Ede is survived by her siblings Norma and Russell (Kathy); children John (Kathryn), Dee and Ann (Graham); her grandchildren Grant (Jilian), Brooke, and Adam (Evangeline); eight great-grandchildren plus two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren in England. We thank Hearthstone of Beaverton for their wonderful care and affection during the last two years of her life.
Please send donations in her memory to Edwards Center Inc.; P.O. Box 6269, Aloha, Oregon 97007-0269; www.edwardscenter.org.
A Memorial Service and Reception will be held at Skyline Memorial Gardens Funeral Home, 4101 NW Skyline Blvd., Portland, Oregon on Monday, July 16, 2018 at 2:00pm.
Edith will be privately laid to rest in Skyline Memorial Gardens in the Garden of Meditation.
Please visit the guestbook portion of this site and enter a special memory or message. Thank you.
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