Edith, The Story of Her Life
Today we laid my stepmother to rest. She was always a good friend to my sisters and I. She cheerleadered us. Edith Edmonds, nee Edith Kyle Gardiner, was born in Glasgow, Scotland on October 19th, 1940. She passed away on February 24th, 2022, from complications of a stroke. Edith was my stepmother and married my father 28 years. They were together for 10 years prior to that. This amounts to almost half their lives spent together. And this is the story of her life.
Edith joins her family members in heaven, her parents William and Lillian, and her younger brothers Billy and Tommy. She is survived by her beloved husband Manning, her favorite sister-in-law Lorraine, her 3 beautiful stepdaughters Christine Harrison, Eileen Edmonds, Elizabeth Ashraf, and her 8 loving grandchildren Loren Harrison Schlieter, Callie Harrison, Austin Harrison, Yasmin Ashraf, Laila Ashraf, Kaden Ashraf, Francisco Ramos, and Mateo Ramos.
Edith’s life was exciting from the start! At one point after Edith’s birth her mother, hearing air sirens sounding throughout the hospital, sheltered her newborn under a table for her protection. This was the Clydebank Blitz during WW II and Germany was after the shipyards. Never a dull moment for Edith.
She inherited her strong work ethic from her parents. Her father worked in coal mines prior to gaining employment in one of those shipyards. Her mother worked in the local hospital as part of the kitchen staff. Edith herself began working at the tender age of 11 washing dishes at a local fish and chips joint. She soon advanced to a waitress and worked at many restaurants throughout her teen years. She spent a couple years working at a resort in the Channel Islands in her early twenties. However, with few prospects for a bright future she set out for America in May of 1966. Just 25 at the time she first made a pit stop at a friend’s house in Savannah before making her way to New York City.
Edith first shared a flat with a few Scottish friends in Washington Heights before moving to Queens. Edith became a homeowner in the early seventies when she purchased a semi-attached brick home on the corner of 162nd Street and 72nd Avenue. Ever resourceful, she rented two of her bedrooms to female college students to help cover the mortgage. These girls would become extended members of her family. Edith attended their college graduations, weddings, exchanged Christmas cards with them, called regularly, and sent gifts when they had children.
Edith and Manning met for a scant 10 minutes in 1976 before becoming permanently enamored with one another when their paths crossed again one evening in 1982. It was at an establishment Edith was tending bar at across the street from my father’s precinct, the 108. They both shared an appreciation for good food, clothes shopping, and estate sales. They continued to share their lives together and were betrothed in 1992 at the Water’s Edge Restaurant in Long Island City.
Edith religiously attended weekly appointments at the beauty parlor to get her hair and nails done. She was always pulled together; her fashionable ensembles were accompanied by coordinating jewelry. While Manning was the at home chef, Edith could bake a delicious New York style cheesecake. She also made a mean Jell-O. Edith enjoyed her weekly “scandal sheets” aka celebrity magazines, watching and reading true crime documentaries, celebrity biographies, and the weekly true crime justice story in the New York Daily News each Sunday. Most recent evenings found her watching British sitcoms and movies from the comfort of her living room with Manning.
After over 40 years serving the hospitality industry Edith retired in 1994. She and Manning fell in love with Sarasota, Florida and permanently retired there in 1995 when they purchased their home on a corner lot. They both were regulars at their local gym where Edith was fond of circuit training and water aerobics. Even though she could not swim she enjoyed visiting the beach or floating in their pool with a trusty pool noodle. Edith also volunteered as an usher for 7 years at the Asolo Repertory Theatre. Together she and Manning became members of the Caledonian and British Clubs. Edith fancied dancing at the Christmas Party each year and helping with the annual Highland Games hosted by the Scottish Heritage Society.
Unfettered from the world of work suited both Edith and Manning. Along with dozens of other couples, for over twenty years they participated in the sunset vow renewal ceremony each Valentine’s Day on Siesta Key. They took countless cruises to the Caribbean - Mexico, Panama, Honduras, Belize, Puerto Rico, Cuba, the British and American Virgin Islands, along with one originating from Montreal that navigated the Eastern seaboard before returning to Fort Lauderdale. They also took many trips abroad over the years, to Turkey, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Paris, Belgium, Ireland, Britain, and numerous trips to Scotland. Their last big cross Atlantic adventure was a safari trip to South Africa with a week spent in Cape Town.
Edith was an avid fan of doo wop, rock and roll, and Motown. She knew the lyrics to almost any song from that era and enjoyed dancing to all of it. Edith delighted in celebrations, be they social gatherings or family celebrations. She loved a party. May we all be happy holiday makers and raise a glass in honor of Edith today and all she brought to our lives.
“To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.” – Scottish Poet Thomas Campbell