Ara Eloise (Hathaway) Edwards

Born in Spring Hope, NC, on May 13, 1926, she was the daughter of the late George G. and Estelle (Bryant) Hathaway.

Eloise retired from the Greenville County School System in 1988 after 26 years at various schools such as Welcome Elementary, Northwood Middle, and Pelham Road Elementary. She and Cecil were long-time members of Mitchell Road Presbyterian Church. In addition to being a faithful member of her Sunday school class, she often hosted various women’s groups in her home, including women’s Bible studies and the local chapter of the Gideon’s International women’s auxiliary. Besides being a committed educator, she was a devoted wife, mother, sister, grandmother, and great-grandmother, and one of her greatest strengths was her desire to serve others with her time, her home, her cooking, her garden produce, and her stunning flowers.

She is survived by her daughter Jenell Kilpatrick of Taylors, her grandchildren Michael Edwards, Ara Beth (Kilpatrick) Ford (Ben), David Edwards (Brianne), Jonathan Kilpatrick, and Rebecca Kilpatrick, as well as her six great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her sister Reba Worsley (George) of Raleigh, NC, and her daughter-in-law Brenda Edwards of Greer.

In addition to her parents and husband, she is preceded in death by her beloved son Rodney Carroll Edwards and two brothers and one sister.

Services for Eloise will be held at Mitchell Road Presbyterian Church, 207 Mitchell Rd, Greenville, SC 29615, on Saturday, January 17, 2026, with a visitation at 10am followed by a funeral service at 11am. A private burial will follow.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Gideons International at https://gideons.org/donate and Miracle Hill Ministries at https://miraclehill.org/give/.