Obituary of Jane A. Edwards

Jane Andrea Edwards Jane Andrea Edwards died at the age of 94 on November 13, 2011, with her family surrounding her on Lawrence Lake in Yelm, Washington. She is the last of her generation of Edwards. She was born in her grandmother’s back bedroom on July 6, 1917 in San Pedro, California to Charles “Jack” and Ebba Walsworth. Why the back bedroom? Because cousin Frank Foot was born two days before in the front bedroom! In her teens, the Walsworths (now including brother, Bill and sisters, Phiddie and Carney) lived in Washington where Jane was a proud graduate of the Class of 1935 from Stadium High School in Tacoma. After that, she went to business school in Seattle and then began working at the Smith Tower, which was then the highest building in Seattle! On May 23, 1936 after dating for two years, Jane Andrea Walsworth and Osborne Kenneth Edwards were married at her parents' home in Des Moines. Their first years together were in Yelm, where they owned Edwards Thriftway. Soon their family grew with three sons, Stephen (1941), Mark (1945), Brian (1947) and daughter, Andrea Jane (1949). When the store burned in 1958, they moved to Desert Hot Springs, California where they built their home on the Edwards’ Homestead. There Jane worked for many years as a School Food Service Manager for The Palm Springs Unified School District. Their retirement years were happily spent in what they considered to be the best of both worlds: summers and falls at the beach on Hood Canal, winters and springs in warm and sunny Desert Hot Springs. Jane loved the desert! She was able to share this love and knowledge by being a long time Docent of The Living Desert Reserve, where she led guided tours and delighted in showing others the Rosy Boa and Red Tailed Hawk! Jane was known for her humor and wit, and her greatest love and joy was her family. Many days were spent playing games (Dicey Dicey was a favorite), singing silly songs, knitting (Afghans and booties were a favorite!) and counted cross stitch (She was famous for her Christmas Cards!). She taught countless relatives to shuck oysters! She was an excellent cook, avid reader, ocean lover and had the best lap to climb in for snuggles and loves. Ask any one of her eight grandchildren whom she loved the most and all would point to themselves. The truth is that she grew a separate heart for each of them--and then two more when she became GiGi (Great Grandma). Memorial donations in Jane's name may be made to The Living Desert Reserve or The Yelm Prairie Historical Museum. Jane is survived by her sons, Mark and Brian; daughter, Andrea Jane; daughter-in-law, Stephanie; sister, Carlyn; grandchildren, Stacey, Taryn Jane, Stephen, Jon, Greg, Janie, Ozzie and Charlie; great grandchildren, Zach and Lyric; and numerous nephews, nieces, grand nieces and grand nephews. She was proceeded in death by son, Stephen; husband, Ozzie; grandson, James “Kubie”; sister, Phyllis; and brother, Bill. “All that was left was love and wonder.” --from Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells Please leave memories of Jane or condolences for the family in the Guestbook below.