Among the traits distinguishing Edna was the red hair she inheritedfro m the Purvis side of her family via the Powells, which she in turnpass ed on to several of her own children and grandchildren. In lateryears h er hair turned snow white, making a stunning contrast to thered dress s he wore for special occasions.
Another memorable feature was her exceptional mind which she retainedu ntil the end. In spite of having such a large family, she couldrecite f ull names and birth dates of each child and grandchild.
1910-11 Shortly after her marriage, Edna received a letter from hermo ther in which she talked about activities and well-being of otherfamil y members as well as he own fatal illness.
Edna wrote a wonderful poem found in her diary which said:
You & I, alone we sit,
Just you & I, but what of it?
What matters if the world rush by,
The storm clouds roll, the boughs sigh?
We know the joy, the peace divine,
That I am yours and you are mine.
The world rolls on and it would seem
To be a bauble in just a dream
But you and I alone may sit,
And create heaven out of it.
Here, hour by hour, & day by day,
We carve a picture fair & gay,
We signal far as stars above,
Look! Thi9s is marriage!
This is LOVE!
In 1943 she was working at the Brown Shoe factory with a yearly incomeb y 1949 of $2392.99. Later until about 1972, she worked as a patientai de (private duty sitter), many of her patients being younger thanshe w as.
Following Robert's death she lived in a tiny 2 bedroom house, probablyn ot more than 800 sq ft total, on Champaign Ave in Mattoon but couldsqu eeze in 40-50 people every week-end when the children came back tovisi t. It seemed like there was a revolving door with the guest listchang ing hourly.
She loved to travel and did so every chance she got, either to visitre latives or with them on their trips. On one occasion she spent 6weeks i n CA with her brother, Joe.
From "Gifts of Our Heritage" by granddaughter, Pat Van Gundy Courtney,i s the following tribute to Edna and the family:
"Our parents gave us the gift of knowing 'Daddy's people' and many ath read in my life's tapestry is an Illinois one. There was hardly asumm er we missed going to Illinois to see Grandma VanGundy andeveryone. O ur aunts, uncles, and cousins are much loved and thoughtabout because o f the Illinois visits. Grandma Van Gundy was theprettiest grandma; sh e always smelled wonderful; and called everyone'honey.' It did not ma tter how many grandchildren she had, thenewest one was always special. E ven after we were grown, she sent usbirthday cards and letters. Sadly , there are only whispers of
memories of Grandpa VanGundy. He died on my sixth birthday.
At Grandma's house, whoever was up first or through the back doorfirst m ade the coffee. No one complained how it tasted, but Uncle JDwas fond o f saying that he could drink one cup of Daddy's coffee andjust add wat er to it the rest of the day. Also, one did not throwaway the coffee g rounds--they were put (along with egg shells) in a
metal pitcher kept by the kitchen sink.
I especially remember Grandma's long table and all the activitycentere d there--a lot of it having to do with playing pinochle andtelling tal es on one another. As a child and even later, I wouldstand quietly an d listen to the grownups talk. I most enjoyedhearing about 'olden day s'--of times before radio and television whenthe only entertainment wa s self-made. They talked of singing atnight. Daddy's favorite song wa s 'In the Garden' which I have sincelearned was the last song they wou ld sing in the evening before goingto bed. Of course, when telling abo ut school days and walking toschool, the walk became longer and the sn ow deeper. They talked ofhaving boarders living with them and how the l ong table was set twicefor every meal. Grandma told of the devastating f lu epidemic whentheir hired hand died. She talked about when Aunt Dor ie Jean wasborn and how she had a dream in which she was at total peac e andwalked through fields and fields of the most gorgeous flowers she h adever seen. Only later when she came around, as she put it, did the doctor say that they almost lost her.
And Grandma told of seeing Mother for the first time. Mother, fromthe h ills of North Carolina, had never been away from home beforewhen she w ent to Illinois on the bus. She was dressed in a brownsuit and Grandm a said she looked like a pretty, little brown bird.Mother always said t hat Grandma taught her how to be a mother-in-law;and I only hope that I h ave learned from our Mother how to be one.
We also loved Grandma VanGundy to visit us in North Carolina. Backbef ore the interstates, she would ride the bus from Illinois toCharlotte. H ow she endured those bus trips is beyond me. Just thethought of being o n the bus for the two-days journey makes meexperience car-sickness all o ver again."
Up until the last months of her life, she had lived independently, butf inally moved in with daughter, June Fitt, where she died. The causeof d eath was recorded as arteriosclerotic heart disease with chronicheart f ailure. Her obituary said that besides her children she
left 57 grandchildren, 80 great grandchildren and 11 great-greatgrandc hildren.
Her will read:
"I, Edna Powell Van Gundy of Mattoon in the County of Coles, State ofI llinois, being of sound mind and memory, and considering theuncertaint y of this fail and transitory life, do therefore make,ordain, publish a nd declare this to be my Last Will and Testament. Ido hereby revoke a ll and every former Will or Wills made by me or forme.
First: I order and direct my Executors hereinafter named to pay allmy j ust debts and funeral expenses as soon after my decease asconveniently m ay be.
Second: I do hereby make, constitute and appoint J.D. Van Gundy andLa ura Van Gundy Young, Executors of this my Last Will and Testamentand i t is my wish that they may not be compelled to give bond orsecurity as s uch Executors, and that they may settle the estate byselling of the re al and personal estate, at private or public sale asthey may think bes t and pay the debts without being compelled toaccount to the probate o r any other court; estate to be closed withinone year after decease.
Third: After payment of such funeral expenses and debts it is mydesir e that my children who contributed to the "Kitty" be re-imbursedin pro portion as the amount contributed bares to the total amountcontributed .
Fourth: After the payment of such funeral expenses, debts, and the"Ki tty" it is my desire that the remaining monies be divided equallybetwe en my lawful children and in the event that one or more of mylawful ch ildren predecease me in death then their share is to be
divided equally between my lawful childrens lawful children. It isals o my desire that Robert Elmer Neaves share in my estate, both realand p ersonal, on the same basis as a lawful child. IN TESTIMONTYWHEREOF, I h ave hereunto subsecribed my name and affixed my seal this30 day of Jun e, 1954."
Edna Van
Gundy (signature)
The will was witnessed by J.G. Powell and Nelson Earl Powell, herbroth ers. (The "Kitty" was a fund established by the children tohelp suppo rt their mother.)
The funeral was held on a Thursday at 2 PM in the First ChristianChurc h of Mattoon with Rev Robert Clark officiating. Pallbearerswere grand sons, Mark Fitt, Joe, Dale, and John Van Gundy, Van Webb,and Jim Neave s; honorary pallbearers were her sons. Meals wereserved to the large c rowd of family and friends by both the FirstChristian and First Baptis t Churches.
