Edith B Waddell

3/19/1918 ~ 1/21/2012

Passed away peacefully, at the age of 93, on January 21, 2012 in Los Gatos, CA. Edith (Edie) was an identical twin, one of nine children born to Effie Summer Ball and Needham Eugene Ball in Tylertown, Mississippi. She graduated from Mississippi University For Women in 1939. Edith began working for the State Department in 1941 as a Secretary in Eastern European Affairs. She attended The Big Three Conference in Potsdam, Germany in 1945, The Foreign Ministers Conference in Moscow, Russia, also in 1945, and The Paris Peace Conference in 1946. Edith was secretary to Charles E. Bohlen who would be Ambassador to Russia. Edith met her future husband, Harold Newton Waddell at Potsdam, Germany. He was a Foreign Service Officer. They were married in 1947. Edith retired from The State Department in 1950 to raise a family. Harold Waddell passed away in 1994. Edith loved her family and enjoyed oil painting, travel and flower arranging. She was an active member of Mt. Olivet United Methodist Church and served for a time on the Board. Edith enjoyed membership in PEO and D.C. DAR.

Survivors include a son, Harold N. Waddell, a daughter, Susan Waddell Purkrabek (Peter), and, a granddaughter, Sarah Summer Purkrabek, all of Los Gatos, CA. A Celebration Of Life will be held on Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 10 a.m. at Mt. Olivet United Methodist Church with burial to follow at National Memorial Park.