Eva Jane (Howland) Edgecomb, age 88, died at her home on Sunday May 9th. She had been recuperating after a short illness. She was surrounded at her home by loving family and friends.
Her husband of 66 years, Byron, died in 2006.
She is survived by the following loving family members; Shirley (Edgecomb) and James Allen of Mystic,
Robert (and Linda) Edgecomb; of Uncasville, Byron (and Ka) Edgecomb; of Cardington, Ohio,
Bruce (and Joanne) Edgecomb of Mystic; a brother, Donald Howland of FL and MI; 12 grandchildren, 21 great grand-children and 2 great great grandsons. She was predeceased by a daughter, Sharon in 1992, a sister Erma, and brothers William, Leroy and John.
She and her husband of 66 years and then she by herself had their home in Center Groton since 1973. They were from Maine and New York State originally but this quickly became “their home”. It was the center of operations for their family. They came from all over the country to visit and have a bite to eat. There was always a place at the table or a bed for stay-overs
We cannot count how many neighborhood kids have called her Gram, Grama B, or Mom over the years. Her house was the place to go for any kind of help that was needed. If you had a skinned up knee or needed a cookie.....it was always taken care of quickly. Did you need your hair done or a dress for the dance on Friday night? She was there to get you together. She always had a dish of something good to send home with you if you visited. What soups she could make! She was a care-giver at heart. She recently spent several weeks at the Apple Rehabilitation Center in Mystic. One of the things that bothered her the most was that her cookie jar was sitting empty at home!
She had worked at the Groton Motor Inn (The Golden Cup) as a waitress until she retired. Then she paid attention to her home and gardens. She was always ready to explain anything about planting and caring for the garden to making one of her favorite recipes. Her chidren (and the grands!) were always calling her to ask....how do we cook this or that? She was always ready to tell us. No matter how many times she had told us before.
She was an excellent teacher. When gardening she allowed us to plant the tomatoes too close together (those plants are very tiny!!!) so we saw what happened. She smiled as we waded thru the jungle of 6 foot tall tomato plants looking for a hint of red. Next time we gave them a little space. She was great!
She preserved anything she could get into a jar. It was not uncommon for her to pick up a package of peppers on the day--old counter at Stop and Shop and go home and make pickles in the middle of the winter. She was amazing!!! Her husband would get ribbons at the Ledyard Fair for the produce; she got awards for her preserves and relishes.
Visitation will be at The Dinoto Funeral Home, 17 Pearl Street, Mystic on Friday from 1-1:45pm, followed by a service at 2pm. Burial will be in Elm Grove Cemetery.
We have a family blog page. Please follow our journey there. It will be up-dated regularly. And we want to hear from you! (http://gramedgecomb.sosblog.com/)
In her memory any donations to the Hospice of Southeastern Ct. would be very much appreciated.; Hospice of South Eastern Ct., 227 Dunham St. , Norwich Ct 0636, 860-848-569. (www.hospice.org).
To share a message of remembrance or condolence with her family, please click the link below.