Edith Bryant Aanderud

Sister, mother, grandmother (Nana), great grandmother, teacher and friend, Edith Bryant (Greenleaf) Aanderud, 91, passed away peacefully on Good Friday.  Born February 9, 1923 in Greencastle, Indiana, Edith was one of four daughters of Herrick and Blanche Greenleaf.  Her father was head of the Math Department at DePauw University where Edith attended college.  She played the trombone, was a member of the Alpha Phi sorority and graduated early with a Bachelor of Arts degree.  On her twenty-first birthday she ran off to Cincinnati and enlisted in the US Marine Corp and was based in El Toro, California.  She met fellow marine, Tilford (Gene) Aanderud and they were married on September 7, 1945.  After being Honorably Discharged, they settled in Portland and started a family raising five children in the Beaumont area.  They were active members of Bethany Lutheran Church for over 50 years. As her children grew, Edith completed post graduate work in education at Portland State University and taught elementary mathematics in the Portland Public Schools.  She was a member and Past President of the Portland Teachers Association and was Portland’s PTA Teacher of the Year in 1980.  She retired from Rose City Park School in 1981. She was a member of the Order of Eastern Star – Past Matron of both Friendship Chapter 148 and Victory Chapter 130, and member of the Daughters of the Nile - Order of the Amaranth.  She was a member of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, past President of Delta Theta Tau – Philanthropic Society and past President of the Women Marine Association.  In her later years, she volunteered at the Shriners Hospital. She enjoyed family time including travel and camping.  She was involved with Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and kids baseball as the scorekeeper for Wilshire Little League.  She had fun doing crossword puzzles and playing card games and Scrabble with friends and family and often shared her ‘secret smile’ with loved ones.   Edith was preceded in death by her husband Tilford, sister Elizabeth Blanch Greenleaf and grandson Jason.  She is survived by her sisters Mildred Hodshire (Valparaiso, IN) and Marion Smith (Denver, CO), children Michael (Lynea) (Covington, WA), David (Linda), Richard (Elissa), Weston (Kris) (Eugene, OR), Elizabeth (Roger) Olson and 10 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren. Special thanks go out to Carlsberry Place Adult Care Home in Gresham where Edith was loved and taken care of for the past two years. A celebration of her life will be held on April 29, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. at Ross Hollywood Little Chapel of the Chimes.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Al Kader Shriner Transportation Fund and The Order of the Eastern Star Scholarship Fund.