Rosemary Edwards – November 27, 2012


Rosemary Edwards, 98, of Amarillo died Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012.
Services will be at 1:00 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012, in Boxwell Brothers Ivy Chapel with Pastor Jerry Thomas officiating.  Burial will follow at Memory Gardens Cemetery.  Arrangements are by Boxwell Brothers Funeral Directors, 2800 Paramount Blvd.
Rosemary was born June 25, 1914, in Ann Arbor, Michigan to Walter Garrison and Helen Ballard Hopkins.  She attended school in Tonkawa, Oklahoma where her father was the school superintendent and graduated high school in Edmond, Oklahoma. She was employed at White and Kirk Department Store, the Capitol Hotel and Laborers Local Union.  She was a member of North Beacon Church of the Nazarene.
Rosemary was preceded in death by her parents; two brothers; a sister; and her husband, Lee A. “Blackie” Edwards in 1981.
Rosemary was named for her grandmothers, Rose Ballard and Mary Hopkins.
She was an original “Rosie the Riveter” having built B-17’s at the Boeing Aircraft Plant in Seattle Washington during World War II.   It was a great source of real pride to have been part of the war effort.  She was honored by officials in 2003, for her war effort at the ribbon cutting of the new, “Rosie the Riveter/War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, California.
Special thanks go to her grandson, Jeff for faithfully picking her up for church, taking her to doctor visits and especially dealing with her hearing aids!!  They had a special relationship.
Special thanks to Sandra Mestas for her faithful care over the last year. Thanks also to all her Meals on Wheels folks who came every day for so many years and also the staffs at Bivins Nursing home, BSA Hospital and BSA Hospice.  Thanks also to Pastor Jerry Thomas for always being there for our family. It does take a village to care for our older loved ones.  Thanks for being our village.
Survivors include son, Tom Downs and wife Lois of Phoenix, AZ, daughter Cherie Payne and husband Bill of Broomfield, CO, son Robert Muncy and wife Angela of Howard, Pa. and son Jimmy Muncy and wife Nancy of Amarillo, Texas.  She is also survived by numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
The family will receive friends from 6 to 7 p.m. Friday, November 30 at the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials to her church, North Beacon Church of the Nazarene, 1601 N. Nelson, Amarillo, Texas 79107.

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