Dorothy P. Edmunds

Dorothy “Dixie” P. Edmunds passed away at the age of 102 on May 23rd, surrounded by her loving family. She was preceded in death by Rex Averill Edmunds, her husband of 37 years, and her brother, Harry (Judge) Plummer. She is survived by her children and their spouses, Ann Edmunds Bergin (Daniel), Jeff Bowen Edmunds (Evelyn), Sherry Edmunds Adams (Robert); 8 grandchildren, Daniel, Catherine, Jeff, and Brian Bergin, David Edmunds and Kelsey (Edmunds) Cofer, Brad and Eric Adams; and 26 great-grandchildren. A service will be held for immediate family. Arrangements are with Starks Family Funeral Homes. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the First Congregational Church UCC, 2001 Niles Avenue, St. Joseph, Michigan, 49085. Those wishing to share a memory of Dixie online may do so at www.starks-menchinger.com. Dixie was born in Benton Harbor, Michigan, on December 9th, 1909, part of a pioneer Berrien County family. Her grandfather, Alonzo Plummer, was a union officer in the Civil War, later an attorney and judge, and, at one time, mayor of Benton Harbor. Her father, Harry Plummer, was also an attorney and judge. Her mother, Ann Hunt Plummer, was prominent in local arts circles, active in the Twin City Players, and a gifted pianist, who played not only in church, but also with musical groups around the area. Dixie graduated from Benton Harbor High School at the age of 16 as salutatorian of the class of 1926. She went on to LaSalle College in Boston and graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a major in French history. In 1934, she married Rex Averill Edmunds, son of another pioneer Benton Harbor family and longtime president of Benton Harbor’s Fidelity Life and Income Mutual Insurance Company. Her friends remember her as lively, vivacious, and intelligent, a constant reader—non-fiction, please– especially biography, and most especially biographies from the Elizabethan period. Her greatest passion were the diaries of Samuel Pepys—she read all nine volumes at least once a year, and regale or bored (depending on who tells the story) her family with Pepys anecdotes. Words were her great pleasure in life—reading them, writing them, and in later years, fitting them into Crosswords. In her nineties, she wrote a series of newsletters (now bound into a book titled “Dearest Love, Ninety +” to her contemporaries in the Congregational Church. The letters expressed her bewilderment and, it must be said, amusement at contemporary life. “No one I know has a computer,” she remarked, “and everyone eats dessert.” At age 92, she decided to move to Woodland Terrace in Bridgman where she found treasured companions, happy and healthy surroundings, loving compassionate care, spirited bridge partners, and peace of mind. She was determined, always, to be gracious and loving, but to manage her own life. And so she did, beginning to end. To her survivors she left a legacy of courage and determination not only to survive, but also to overcome any obstacle or challenge with grace and good humor. For those who were close to her, not a day will pass without thoughts of her and amazement at our great good fortune in having such a wondrous and enduring presence in our hearts.