Mrs. Edith Elizabeth Roaten

God called Edith E. Roaten home on May 4, 2012, at the age of 98. She was a resident of Wharton House in Pleasant Hill, TN. Edith was born in Greenbrier, Arkansas on April 19, 1914 to Lonzo and Clementine Reynolds. She was the second oldest of nine children.

Edith was the loving wife of William Grady Roaten for 57 years. They began their new life together in Louisiana where Edith served others in her own local café. During the early 1950s she and her husband moved to New Jersey where Edith was a waitress at Colligan’s Stockton Inn for 17 years. During her spare time, she became an accomplished seamstress and gardener.

When it was time to retire, Edith and her husband returned to Louisiana where she enjoyed cooking, baking and canning everything Grady grew in his garden. Her sewing skills carried over to quilting. You could always find her in the garden, the kitchen or the sewing room. Her hands were never idle. When the gardening got too big and the canning became too much, Edith and Grady returned once again to Arkansas where they became very active in their church and were able to travel a bit.

At the age of 76, Edith moved to Colorado to be closer to her son, Ted. God put her to work, in the kitchen, at the Cornerstone Baptist Church in Highlands Ranch. But when Ted retired, he moved his mother with him to Crossville, Tennessee. Soon after arrival, Edith joined the First Baptist Church of Fairfield Glade. At the age of 86, Edith continued gardening in her yard, quilting and serving God.

Edith is survived by two sons, Ted of Crossville, TN and Bob of Mount Joy, PA; three grandsons; ten great grandchildren; and two sisters, Lydia Vanetta of Arkansas and Reba Fieldson of Oklahoma.

Edith will be buried in Conway beside her beloved Grady. There will be a graveside service at 10:00 a.m., Monday, May 7, 2012, at Crestlawn Memorial Park.