Edith Bernice Kaser's Obituary
EDITH BERNICE KASER was born in Detroit, Michigan, on September 19, 1923. Her father was a tool and die guy, and when the Depression hit, he moved his family of wife; Anna, Daughters; Edith (6 yrs) and Alice (4 yrs) to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where he established a dairy farm. Edith used to go to school in the winter, in an enclosed sled, with a pot belly stove for warmth. She was always the first to be picked up, so she got the coveted best seat close to the stove. The driver had a small slit in the forward bulkhead with which to see out. While living there in Pelkie, MI, Edith gained another sister, Betty, 13 years younger, and a brother, Bobby 19 years younger. Her sister Alice passed on two years ago, her sister Betty, 81, and brother Bobby 78 live in the UP in the summer and snowbird to Englewood and Naples, respectively. Both attended a Memorial Celebration of Life party at Edith’s sons house in San Carlos Park, this past Sunday, January 21st. Betty spent all Sunday afternoon making 40 pasties from scratch for the party. A pasty was an integral part of lunch for the Copper Country Mining industry in the area around Houghton and Hancock in the Upper Peninsula. The recipe imported from Finland was essentially a meat pie, that the miners kept in their coat pockets to keep them, and themselves, warm. In 1943, she enlisted in the US Navy, and became a WAVE, mostly working in a secretarial pool. When the war was over, she attended Wayne State University in Detroit on the GI Bill, where she met James Allen Kaser, almost a month her junior. They were married on May 23rd, 1947, and lived in Detroit. James’s father Alvie, was a Journeyman Carpenter, and built several streets of houses in the late 40’s, and through the 50’s. He built Jim and Edie a house in 1950, 4 doors down from himself and Leah’s house on Westmoreland Street in Detroit. This was where they brought home their first son, David, who was born on April 28, 1950. After that blessed event, they had another son, Thomas, born on Memorial Day 1953. Tom passed of colon cancer on April 18, 1998. Jim passed of lung cancer October 1, 2005. Jim had 3 sisters who have all passed on. His oldest sister Ione, died last year at 104 years old. Jim and Edie bought their second brand new home in 2000, living next door to their eldest son, David and his lovely wife, Dort. Edith was diagnosed with Senile Dementia in 2013, and moved to Winkler Court Assisted Living, where she spent just shy of 2 years in the Memory Care unit, until the disease progressed to the point that she had to be moved into the Assisted Living wing. She smiled and laughed everyday right up to the end. She thought the facility was a great hotel, where her every need was met, and she never got a bill. Her son hoped and prayed that she would die peacefully and in her sleep. On January 13, 2018, at 12:38 in the morning, his prayers were answered. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Fort Myers Memorial Gardens Funeral Home, 1589 Colonial Blvd., Fort Myers, FL 33907, 239-936-0555. Online condolences may be made at: www.fortmyersmemorial.com.
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