Mrs Mary Louise Edwards

Mary Louise Edwards (nee Garmer) age 91, died on April 1, 2023 in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Beloved wife of the late Richard Everett Edwards; survived by four children; Richard E. Jr., (Linda) of Aiken, SC, Suzanne L. Quigley of Fredericksburg, VA., Carolyn L. Edwards of Knoxville, TN., and Kenneth E. Edwards of Bon Aqua, TN.; twelve grandchildren, seventeen great-grandchildren, and a brother, John Henry Garmer V, of Cockeysville, MD.; also fourteen nieces and nephews. She was the daughter of the late John Henry Garmer IV and Gertrude Gossman Garmer of Baltimore. Her sister, Patricia McComas, preceded her in death. Mrs. Edwards was educated at the Institute of Notre Dame and the College of Notre Dame of Maryland. After graduation she taught for a short while at Guilford School and later worked as a case worker for Associated Catholic Charities. During this time, she sang with the Peabody Institute Choir. The Edwards were married in April, 1954 and lived in Baltimore, then Glen Burnie, Linthicum Heights and Wilmington, DE. In 1967, they moved to Waverly, TN. Mrs. Edwards joined the Waverly Woman’s Club, the Gloriosa Garden Club and the Cumberland Valley Girl Scout Council. She was County Chairman for the eleven troops in the county, Senior Advisor for Troop 312 and publicity person in Humphrey County for which she received a Special Recognition Award from the Council. She represented the council at two National Conventions, one in Atlanta and the other in Denver. After eighteen years, the DuPont Company transferred the Edwards to Delaware (job) Pennsylvania (home) area. Mrs. Edwards joined the Kennett Square Area Newcomers Club, the New Garden Art Association, the Four Seasons Garden Club and the Brandywine Chapter of the Embroiderer’s Guild of America. In both the Gloriosa and Four Seasons Garden Clubs, Mrs. Edwards served as Club President for two years. In Four Seasons, she initiated and chaired two club flower shows at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA, in addition to planning the staging and writing the publicity, Mrs. Edwards received numerous “Laurel” awards for her contributions to the club and preparation of Books of Evidence (recorded club achievements). She also received the Keystone Gardener Literary Award from the Garden Club Federation of Pennsylvania. She was also a member of Garden Writers of America. As a member of the Brandywine Chapter of EGA, Mrs. Edwards also served as Chapter President for two years. She participated in correspondence courses, workshops and stitch’n chats. She initiated the exhibitions of club members’ needlework at Winterthur Museum in Delaware. She wrote the Chapter News and also submitted three articles to the EGA magazine, Needle Arts, which are published. For nine years, 1990-1999, Mrs. Edwards wrote a gardening column, “About the Garden” for the Kennett Paper in Kennett Square, PA. She was life member of both the Garden Club Federation of PA and the National Garden Clubs, Inc., plus a former member of Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and the African violet Society of America. After her husband’s death in 2012, Mrs. Edwards moved to Chancellors Village Retirement Home in Fredericksburg, VA.

Mrs Mary Louise Edwards

October 17, 1931 - April 1, 2023