Edith Stillwell Rodgers Ziegler

Edith Stillwell Rodgers Ziegler passed peacefully on Saturday morning June 7, 2025. Throughout her accomplished life, she was a loyal wife, a supportive mother, and a source of inspiration to her many grandchildren and great-grandchildren as well as serving as a strong advocate for her many friends, neighbors and community. She leaves behind five children--Jane, Beth, Bruce, Nancy and Carol--eleven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her husband, Kent Ziegler, parents Emma and Charles Rodgers, five siblings, grandson Eric (Beth) Alter, and son-in-law Ward (Nancy) Edwards.

Edith was born in Buffalo NY on February 5, 1932. After completing high school, Edith graduated nursing school from Milard Fillmore Hospital in Buffalo NY and thus began her long and storied career of helping others. Upon marrying her husband, Kent Ziegler, she moved to Columbus and worked in nursing at, what was then, Bartholomew County Hospital with her characteristic compassion for her patients. While Edith always continued her love and respect for nursing and medicine—working in the hospital pharmacy, serving as a leader in the Hospital Auxiliary, and volunteering in the ER for many years—her footprint and passion for making the world a better place could not be confined to medicine. Edith never met a stranger, so it was no surprise when she decided to sell real estate and helped many buyers find their dream homes throughout her long and established real estate career.

In addition to her family and her work, Edith always found time to give back to her community. While raising her family, and before it became an accepted practice, Edith championed the value of early childhood education and was instrumental in establishing the preschool and eventual day care program at the First Presbyterian church. She was a beloved pre-school Sunday school teacher at First Presbyterian for more years than we could count. To promote leadership opportunities for girls, Edith served as a Girl Scout Troop Leader. In the early sixties, sensing a lack of July 4th celebrations, Edith organized a Laurel Drive bicycle parade for neighborhood kids. An award-winning flower arranger, she shared her gift for gardening with the community by helping grade school children plant trees and serving as Garden Club President. Ever the educator, Edith volunteered time with several community literacy programs and helped adults and children learn to read. All this and she could still find time to cheer, and of course, volunteer, at her children’s and grandchildren’s piano, voice, choir, band, swim, cheerleading, dance, track, and gymnastics events. When Edith saw a problem, she did something about it and was always striving to make the world friendlier and more accepting place.

In addition to her positive, can-do, outlook on life, Edith’s many culinary treats--such as her trademark key lime pie, rum cake, plum pudding, watermelon pickle, and of course, fruit cake—will be sorely missed. Her legacy of candy dishes full of jellybeans and candy corn will be carried on by her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren: all of whom benefited from her passion for life and commitment to helping others.

A celebration of Edith’s life will be held from 1:30-2:30 p.m., Saturday, June 14, 2025 in the Law’s Room at First Presbyterian Church, 512 7th St., Columbus, IN 47201.

Please leave a fond memory of Edith at www.Myers-Reed.com.

Myers-Reed Chapel on 25th Street is serving the Ziegler family.