Edna Mereb Pettibone

Adjust Text Size: A+ A-

EDNA MEREB PETTIBONE
(nee Warner)
July 23, 1928-Apr. 27, 2019

Edna Mereb Pettibone passed peacefully on Saturday morning, Apr. 27, 2019, at the Grey Nuns Community Hospital, Edmonton, AB, at the age of 90.

Edna was a mentor, teacher, treasured friend and aunt. She was a woman of great independence and spirit who lived in her own Edmonton home for 50 years.

She joins her loved ones, husband Ross Pettibone (2008), parents Nora (Thorsen) and Clifford Warner (1944/45), infant twin Donald (1928), sister Lois (1933), brother Herbert (1959), sister Ella Chase (1989), sister Joy Pettibone (2005) and sister Ruth Sims (2014).

Edna is survived by her sister Beulah Carlson of Hartford, WI, brother-in-law Ralph Pettibone of Red Deer, AB, and sister-in-law Nina Warner of San Leandro, CA.

Also left to mourn her passing are her cherished nieces and nephews, Myra Chase, Donna Faye Kyle (Bill), Cassie Chase, Dorothy Chase (Bob); Norine Carlson-Weber (Mike), Billy Carlson (Gail), Carilyn Carlson Szmanda (Don), Ray Carlson (Rebecca); Ross Pettibone (Jennifer), Myrna Brown (Jeff), Karen Cronin (Ron); and Cindy Warner. She was a great-aunt to 15 and great-great-aunt to 19!

Edna was born and raised on the Warner farm on the Post Road outside Emerson, MB. The family moved into the Warner/Chase home in town, and by 17 she had lost both parents. She completed schooling in West Lynne and Emerson, Normal School in Winnipeg, and later earned her B.Sc. in Elementary Education from St Cloud State University. She taught primary and elementary grades over 20 years and maintained an abiding love for young children.

Edna married Ross Pettibone on June 19, 1965 in Longview, WA and celebrated 43 years of marriage until his passing in 2008. They made their home in Edmonton where they enjoyed their life, house and garden, and hosted many guests.

At Fawcett Lake, Ross and Edna camped with friends.

Edna liked to plan lengthy road trips and make regular visits to family and friends near and far, rarely missing a wedding or other celebration. They wintered on the Baja, in Hawaii, Florida, collecting seashells and sharing them later with children.

Edna was a pre-internet genealogy researcher, and her Thorsen Warner: My Family as I See It (2005) became a legacy to her family. She wrote letters overseas, and visited many communities and cemeteries in Canada and the U.S. to collect stories. Edna kept contact with many of the relatives that she met in Norway as early as 1954 when she toured 14 European countries with lifelong friend Dorothy Gruenke.

Her communication and correspondence were legendary, with beautifully handwritten letters and cards going to a wide audience, marking every birthday and event! In that spirit, she was delighted last July when nieces hosted a happy 90th birthday celebration at her home for some 15 out-of-town relatives and friends. Edna was a gift to each one of us who will treasure many heartwarming memories.

The family thanks the staff of Grey Nuns geriatric units 52 and 53 for their compassionate care.

A Celebration of Life will be announced later.

As published in The Carillon on May 01, 2019