Edith Adams, born Oct. 14, 1922, died Oct. 11, 2016.
Edith Adams was born Juanita Pearline Rhodes on Oct. 14, 1922. But thanks to her baby brother most never knew that name. Little Travis could not pronounce Juanita, and called her Nita. The more he said it, the more her name began to sound like Edith – and it stuck. Everyone called her Edith. With no actual birth certificate she had no proof of that earlier name.
So, later, when her husband Dawson went into the Army, he applied for a birth certificate and social security card for her – using the only name he knew her by, Edith Adams.
Edith and Dawson enjoyed 75 years of marriage, most of it spent in Winston County – except when the Army and other work took them to Texas, Arkansas, South Carolina, and other places. Their Christmas Eve wartime wedding was a story retold time and again in the family.
Edith worked at Haleyville Textile Mill, Winston Uniform, and retired after ten years at Winston County High School as a food service worker.
She gardened and loved her flowers as much as she liked putting away enough fresh food to last for years. Her cooking was “country” as she called it, but to her city-minded grandchildren the holiday menu could never be changed. Moist cornbread with crunchy crust, baked breaded okra, creamed corn, a sweet potato pie…these things welcomed the kids to the table, along with her brusque hugs and a look right straight in the eye that demanded the truth to the question: “How’ve you been?”
Her years raising their three children, Jesse, Janice, and Gaylon, were full of work both outside and inside the home and farming. But in retirement she was going, visiting, constantly providing, whether she gave babysitting, a ride, a meal, a bouquet of her garden’s roses, or an ear to those who could handle her non-nonsense truth freely given.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Lee and Elsie Rhodes, and brothers, Travis and Cletis. Her beloved Dawson passed away five days after his 97th birthday. Edith would have been 94 years old on Friday.
She is survived by her sister, Anna Smith, mother of Susanne and Lisa Arnett (Mark); and three children, Jesse, father of Bethany Giles (Daniel), Janice Shoemaker (Jerry), mother of Debbie, and Gaylon (Peggy), father of Greg and Stephen.
Officiating at the funeral are her cousin, Bobby Aderholt, and Macedonia Church pastor, Terry Bendall.
Visitation will be today from 1-3 p.m. at Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in Haleyville with funeral following at 3 p.m. Burial is in the adjoining church cemetery.
