Mary Elizabeth (Powers) Edwards, 81, of Oil City, died peacefully at 6:30 AM Saturday, February 3, 2018, in her home; following an extended illness.
She was born Jolan Ersebet Kantor on September 12, 1936, in Rothwell (now Minto), New Brunswick (N.B.) Canada, to Hungarian immigrants John (Janos) and Barbara (née Borbala Liptak) Kantor. Following the untimely death of her father in 1939, she was adopted by Thomas Powers and her name was Anglicized.
Fond memories were made during her time at Mount Carmel Academy School for Girls in Saint John, N.B., where she attended boarding school and subsequently attended nursing school. Upon graduation, she and a group of friends began their careers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. It was during these years that she met her husband, started her family, and developed special life-long friendships with the doctors and nurses she worked with at “The Deaconess”.
Intravenous (I.V.) Therapy was her specialty in nursing, and she took great pride in her work. As a Canadian citizen, she was very proud to have obtained her license to practice nursing in numerous U.S. states, including Pennsylvania. Her skills were admired by all she worked with, and she always appreciated being recognized around town by the people whose blood she drew at the old Professional Building.
Rarely traveling in her later years, she loved living in Oil City and staying at home with her beloved companion cat “Inky-Bob” by her side. She was fiercely independent and insisted on performing most household maintenance herself, including raking leaves and shoveling snow. She was very active and loved to be outside. To demonstrate her timeless lively spirit, until a year or two ago, she probably could have still done a cartwheel if she wanted to. She had many colorful and inappropriate expressions that anyone who knew her would recognize. She insisted that all the nurses talked that way at The Deaconess.
The entire family is grateful to everyone at Hospice of Crawford County and Oil Valley Internal Medicine Associates for the exceptional care and compassion they provided, as well as the support of her wonderful neighbors in the community. All the cats, birds, squirrels, and chipmunks in the neighborhood already miss the treats she used to provide for them daily.
She is preceded in death by her husband who passed away on their 45th wedding anniversary, Dr. John G. Edwards, and all of her sisters.
She is survived by a daughter, Angela M. Manzo and her husband Alan of San Antonio, Texas; a son, John Paul “J.P.” Edwards and his wife Katherina of Dublin, Ireland; and grandsons Joseph and Jason Manzo.
Also, surviving are her special niece Anna R. Simon of Florida with whom she shared more of a sisterly bond, and brother-in-law James J. Edwards of Middletown, PA, as well as several nieces and nephews.
In accordance with her wishes, there will be no public visitation.
Funeral services with entombment in Sunset Hill Memorial Gardens, Cranberry Township, shall be private.
Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Timothy E. Hartle Funeral Home, 1328 Elk Street, Franklin.
Please visit: www.hartlefuneralhome.com for further information and to leave a note of condolence.
