Edith Andrews Talbott

Edith Andrews Talbott was born in Petersburg, Virginia, on September 2, 1925, and grew up across from the park and fairgrounds where she recalled seeing a young Burt Lancaster on the high trapeze. She died peacefully in Richmond, Virginia, on May 1, four months shy of her 99th birthday. Edith was predeceased by her parents, Frederick and Emily Andrews, and her husband, Herbert F. Talbott Sr. She is survived by her daughter Claudia and her sons Herbert Jr. (Susan) and Frederick (Patsy), her grandchildren April, Colin, Adam, Nathan, and Susanna, and her great-grandchildren Sydney, Dylan, Gabriella, Shelby, and David. Edith believed everyone was special and everyone should celebrate finding their greatness and happiness. She celebrated goodness, kindness, joy, justice, freedom, equality, sharing, and empathy. When their children were young, she and Herbert took them to St. John’s Church and told them the story of Patrick Henry—and to always speak up and oppose wrong and evil. And to think critically and independently. With courage, care, and honor. She loved and shared life through art, music, humor, and seeing every challenge as an opportunity to learn and live. She was a painting and ceramic and basket weaving artist and member of the Petersburg Art League, a master and teacher of all needlecraft --crochet, embroidery, applique, macrame and knitting. She celebrated every visit to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Smithsonian, and the Mariners Museum, stood and danced with her kids from third row center at the Mosque as Ray Charles belted out “What I Say,” loved playing standup comedian albums, could sing every ABBA song with her beautiful voice and spirit, and stayed tan and healthy from gardening, fitness, and the many family jaunts to Virginia Beach and the Outer Banks. She could do and fix almost anything, and learned and mastered her first computer by staying up all night reading the entire user’s manual. She averaged reading two to three novels a week until her vision weakened, then resumed her pace with audio books. One of her life’s highlights was looking across the aisle on a Southwest flight to Florida and seeing author James Patterson. She taught her kids safety and wisdom and situational awareness while living along busy West Washington Street in Petersburg, at the time also US 1, 301, and 460. She laughed that she won the Virginia Patience Award while learning to drive in a straight shift ’53 Ford with no air conditioner on a hot and dusty dirt road with three laughing, wrestling, impatient kids in the back seat. She was such a great cook, odds are she could have beaten Bobby Flay. Edith, a polling manager, and her husband Herbert railed against Virginia’s poll tax, believing every citizen has a right to vote freely. When their 18-year-old son was drafted into the Army, but chose to join the Marines instead, they worked with U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy to successfully lower the U.S. voting age from 21 to 18. She most loved playing and celebrating every moment she had with her amazing grandkids. She loved all animals, and cherished her succession of pets: Pekingese Lawrence and Maggie, her Australian Shepherd stray Lady, her two cats named Kitty, and Matilda, the chicken that showed up at her back door and never left. We miss her. Her smile. Her laugh. Her grace. Her intelligence. And her goodness. Special thanks to the wonderful caregivers with Traditions Health Hospice, The Laurels of University Park, Sunrise at Bon Air, and her wonderful roommate and guardian angel Martha Yellock. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations to organizations that help children.