Edith Mae Hamilton Herrel

January 18, 1930 – May 31, 2026

Take My Hands

In her final weeks, no one who entered Edie Herrel’s room left without first being thanked; visits from a family member, a friend, a nurse, an aide, someone she had never met who had only come to empty a wastebasket - she would reach out, fold their hands into hers, look directly into their eyes, and tell them, sincerely, how grateful she was for what they were doing. It was, in the smallest possible gesture, exactly how she lived for ninety-six years: certain that every person mattered and unwilling to let the moment pass without saying so.

Edie was born in Columbus, Ohio, on January 18, 1930, the daughter of T. Kline Hamilton and Vivian Ferguson Hamilton. She grew up in Bexley, walking to Bexley United Methodist Church, where her family was a charter member and where she would remain a devoted member for the rest of her life, and to the schools where she and her husband attended. She graduated from The Ohio State University with a degree in fine arts. From her father, she absorbed a belief that “there is always a better way,” and from both parents she learned that we are, each of us, our brother’s keeper.

She married the love of her life, Frank Michael “Mike” Herrel, a curly-haired sailor she had first noticed as a girl when he came around to play with her older brother. Their courtship became family legend, and their marriage lasted seventy-one years; seven decades of raising children, traveling the world, dancing, worshiping, and welcoming an ever-widening circle of people into their extended family.

What Edie did with her energy, creativity, and imagination is difficult to summarize because she simply never stopped finding ways to bring people together in the service of something larger than herself. In 1963, as a young mother of three, she co-founded the Columbus Junior Theater of the Arts, which endures today as the Columbus Children’s Theatre. In 1974, she founded the Bexley Historical Society and served as its first president, working alongside many others to preserve and celebrate the community’s history. She designed museum exhibits, painted historical portraits, and inspired a lasting appreciation for local heritage. At age 94, she published a collection of those portraits and the stories behind them.

Edie was an artist, author, teacher, museum designer, volunteer, and community advocate. She devoted her time and talents to organizations, including the Central Community House, the Junior League of Columbus, the Columbus Arts Council, the National League of American Pen Women, and the Liturgical Art Guild of Ohio, among many others. Whether through civic organizations, educational initiatives, church ministries, or quiet acts of service, she devoted her talents to helping others learn, create, connect, and flourish. Her spiritual artwork is featured in Vanderbilt University’s Art in the Christian Tradition database and continues to inspire congregations across the country and around the world. Along the way, she received honors including an honorary doctorate from Ohio Northern University and the City of Bexley’s proclamation of September 29, 2024, as “Edie Mae Herrel Day.” She accepted such recognition with gratitude; though she was always more interested in the work itself and the people beside whom she shared it.

Anyone who worked alongside her tells some version of the same story. When others saw obstacles, Edie saw possibilities. She had a gift for inviting people into a shared vision and helping them see the difference they could make. Her optimism was contagious, her kindness persistent, and her faith unwavering. She believed that most people wanted to leave the world a little better than they found it; often, all they needed was someone to encourage them to begin. As one community leader observed, “If Edie Mae got behind something, it was going to happen.”

But for all that she gave to her community, it was her family that she loved most fiercely and gathered most eagerly. Edie and Mike built a life designed to keep everyone close: summers at family camp, a beloved gathering place on Jekyll Island, Georgia, where she delighted in hosting the people she loved, and journeys together that carried the family as far as Alaska and China. She turned togetherness into a tradition, none more treasured than the annual "grandkids' weekend," when the grandchildren took charge, creating a theme, organizing games, planning elaborate meals, and filling the house with laughter.

Beneath all of it was an unshakable Christian faith and a philosophy that “the greater joy comes not from what one accomplishes for oneself, but from what another accomplishes because of you.” She often said, “My every today reflects someone's yesterday and can enrich someone's tomorrow.” She lived with a profound awareness of both gratitude and responsibility—thankful for those who had invested in her and determined to leave the path brighter for those who would come after. She lived as though it were simply true.

Edie was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Mike; her parents, T. Kline and Vivian Hamilton; and her brothers, Tom (Ann) and David Hamilton. She is survived by her children, Daniel Kline Herrel, Michael Dean (Reeny) Herrel, and Nancy Sue (Bill) Nuss; her grandchildren, Michael (Rachel) Herrel, Jennifer (Jeff) Clements, Patrick Herrel, and Stephanie (Jack) Skinner; her great-grandchildren, Samuel and Leah Herrel, Piper Clements, and John, Sarah, and Benjamin Skinner; her many nieces, nephews, and cousins; and the countless friends, neighbors, fellow volunteers, and strangers-turned-family she gathered to herself across a long and generous life.

A celebration of Edie’s life will be held at Bexley United Methodist Church 2657 E. Broad Street, Bexley, Ohio. Calling hours at the church will be on Friday, September 11 from 4-6pm, and Saturday, September 12 from 10:30-11:15am with a celebration of life service beginning at 11:30am. Arrangements are entrusted to Schoedinger Midtown.

In lieu of flowers, the family invites gifts in Edie’s memory to the Bexley Historical Society, Bexley United Methodist Church, or the Columbus Children’s Theatre - three of the many places where her kindness took root and still grows.

She would want you to know how grateful she was for the love and joy you brought to her life. She would take your hands and tell you so herself.