Mrs. Edith Nan Stevens, 78, of Lynn Haven, Fla., ended her battle with cancer on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2006. She was born in Proctor, Vt., on June 24, 1928. She was a phone operator with Pacific Northwest Bell for 22 years. Edith loved crafts and gardening, feeding the birds and squirrels, and spending time with BoaGuard (Bo) the Pug.  After retiring from California to Florida, she took up quilting and, within seven months, created the “United We Stand” quilt in memory of Sept. 11, 2001. Other quilts included one presented to Columba Bush, Gov. Jeb Bush’s wife, and one that hung in the Tallahassee State Capitol Rotunda. Many of her quilts have won awards while being displayed in museums, and as part of exhibits that have traveled across the country. Edith had created a dolphin statue for the Dolphin Splash project, which had raised money for the local library as well as several other area charities. She was a member of the Krewe of Massalina, the Downtown Panama City Mardi Gras organization, and was known as “The Queen Mum” to both local Krewes. She sewed and embroidered costumes, and rode the Sea Dragon float in the local parades.

Edith was a fighter and a woman before her time. She worried about everyone else but herself to the end. She raised her children with unwavering principles unconditional love and an inner strength to “always rise above.” Edith was preceded in death by her brother, Don Page of Las Vegas, Nev. Edith is survived by her daughter, Hazel Riley and son-in-law, Timothy, of Lynn Haven; son, Neil Cummings and daughter-in-law, Teresa, of Panama City, Fla.; daughter, Lynette McMillen and son-in-law, Jim, of Coos Bay, Ore.; sisters, Gwen Keller and husband, Elroy, of Yakima, Wash., Eileen Smith and husband, Roger, of Meadville, Pa., and Dorothy Carter of Winter Garden, Fla.; her grandchildren, Travis McMillen of Winter Park, Fla., Julie Cummings of San Diego, Calif., Joshua Cummings of Eureka, Calif., and Tim, Charlie and Ben Arrant of Panama City; three great-grandchildren, Kali Cummings and Caleb Cummings of Eureka, Calif., and Margaret Page McMillen of Winter Park, Fla.; nieces, Le Anne and Kay; and nephews, Gordon, Philip and Stan, the children of Gwen and Elroy Keller.

News Herald Obituary

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