MIDDLEBURY — Edie Beckwith passed away on April 1. She was born to Everett Cowan and Madie Hayden on Aug. 25, 1922, in Memphis, Tenn. She married Jack Beckwith on March 20, 1943, in Suffern, N.Y. Jack and Edie met at Middlebury College. They raised two children, Leslie and Lee. They had three granddaughters, Brett, Mica and Audrey, and four great-grandsons, JD, Zen, Liam and Mikko.
Among the apartments in the Middlebury area, they lived above the IGA, across from the Marquis Theater. The ice man brought blocks of ice in those days and Jack went to war, becoming a pilot of D.C. 3s, and as a pilot he trained out of Bristol Airport. Edie was a lifelong homemaker and made many friends as a founder of the Middlebury Community Players. Not a good golfer, she nevertheless spent many happy days at the Ralph Myhre Golf Course and skiing at the Snow Bowl.
Edie had many friends in town and outlived most of them. A lifelong lover of books, she passed this trait on to her offspring, who are never without a book. Jack would win trips abroad as a GM dealer in Middlebury, and as a result Edie and Jack saw much of the world in an era of prosperity. Living through the Depression and World War II were sobering times, which forged the great generation.  Edie joins her husband Jack and so many of her friends. She was 97 years old.
A special thanks to Chris Ketchum who was there for her until the end, also to all the people at EastView who took care of her so well in her final years.  A celebration of life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to a Veterans charity as per her wishes.◊