Edde Frances was the daughter of Elizabeth (Hays) and Edward Bickell. Shortly after Edde's 15th birthday, her mother unexpectedly passed away. Edde graduated from St. Aloisius Academy, Catholic Girls' School in June of 1939. Five months later, on her 18th birthday, Edde became engaged to James Edward "Ed" Mayer. They were married the following spring; April 24, 1940. Three short years later, on April 1, 1943, her husband reported for active duty in the Army Air Corp for World War II. At the time, Edde was not only the mother of a toddler, she was also 7 months pregnant with their second child. She and her aunt, Lena, lived together during the war; Lena went to work at a munitions plant while Edde Frances stayed home with her children and Lena's. Happily, Ed returned home safely at the end of the war. Even though the war officially ended in August of 1945, there was a housing shortage caused by the sudden influx of so many GI's, so the Mayer family, (Ed, Edde Frances, Terry Beth and James) wasn't able to move into their first home until July of 1950. It was located at 4624 W. 64th St. in Mission, Kansas.
In November of 1970, Edde Frances lost her brother due to heart problems. Although at a difficult time in her life both physically and financially, she lovingly opened her home to his teenage children, Terry Beth and Bill Bickell. But 1970 also brought great joy. Edde's first grandchild, Steven, was born. He and brother, Spencer, were the light of her life for the next 25 years.
Toward the end of her life, Edde struggled first with uterian cancer; enduring chemotherapy, and then lung cancer; struggling through radiation treatments. She succumbed from complications to the latter on Valentine's Day 1995, at St. Luke's Hospital, surrounded by her family.
In November of 1970, Edde Frances lost her brother due to heart problems. Although at a difficult time in her life both physically and financially, she lovingly opened her home to his teenage children, Terry Beth and Bill Bickell. But 1970 also brought great joy. Edde's first grandchild, Steven, was born. He and brother, Spencer, were the light of her life for the next 25 years.
Toward the end of her life, Edde struggled first with uterian cancer; enduring chemotherapy, and then lung cancer; struggling through radiation treatments. She succumbed from complications to the latter on Valentine's Day 1995, at St. Luke's Hospital, surrounded by her family.
Edde Frances was the daughter of Elizabeth (Hays) and Edward Bickell. Shortly after Edde's 15th birthday, her mother unexpectedly passed away. Edde graduated from St. Aloisius Academy, Catholic Girls' School in June of 1939. Five months later, on her 18th birthday, Edde became engaged to James Edward "Ed" Mayer. They were married the following spring; April 24, 1940. Three short years later, on April 1, 1943, her husband reported for active duty in the Army Air Corp for World War II. At the time, Edde was not only the mother of a toddler, she was also 7 months pregnant with their second child. She and her aunt, Lena, lived together during the war; Lena went to work at a munitions plant while Edde Frances stayed home with her children and Lena's. Happily, Ed returned home safely at the end of the war. Even though the war officially ended in August of 1945, there was a housing shortage caused by the sudden influx of so many GI's, so the Mayer family, (Ed, Edde Frances, Terry Beth and James) wasn't able to move into their first home until July of 1950. It was located at 4624 W. 64th St. in Mission, Kansas.
In November of 1970, Edde Frances lost her brother due to heart problems. Although at a difficult time in her life both physically and financially, she lovingly opened her home to his teenage children, Terry Beth and Bill Bickell. But 1970 also brought great joy. Edde's first grandchild, Steven, was born. He and brother, Spencer, were the light of her life for the next 25 years.
Toward the end of her life, Edde struggled first with uterian cancer; enduring chemotherapy, and then lung cancer; struggling through radiation treatments. She succumbed from complications to the latter on Valentine's Day 1995, at St. Luke's Hospital, surrounded by her family.
In November of 1970, Edde Frances lost her brother due to heart problems. Although at a difficult time in her life both physically and financially, she lovingly opened her home to his teenage children, Terry Beth and Bill Bickell. But 1970 also brought great joy. Edde's first grandchild, Steven, was born. He and brother, Spencer, were the light of her life for the next 25 years.
Toward the end of her life, Edde struggled first with uterian cancer; enduring chemotherapy, and then lung cancer; struggling through radiation treatments. She succumbed from complications to the latter on Valentine's Day 1995, at St. Luke's Hospital, surrounded by her family.
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