Edith Thompson Whiteside, 93, passed away peacefully on January 16, 2025, in Merritt Island, Florida.
Edith was born on April 15, 1931, in Rockbridge County to Walter and Dessie Thompson. Edith was preceded in death by her parents, Walter and Dessie Thompson; her husband, George “Eddie” Whiteside; brothers, Luther (Annie) Thompson, Frank “Tooke” Thompson; sisters, Margaret Thompson and Elizabeth (Sammy) Hudson; special aunts, Eliza Cash Thompson and Florence Cash Collins; special in-laws, William and Beulah Whiteside; sister and brothers-in-law, Jean (Harold) Edwards, Vivian (Reese) Nicely, Shirley (Herman “Hotshot”) Fitzgerald, Charlene Falls and Emily Nuckols.
Her surviving family includes her daughters, Debbie (Roger) Cadd of Merritt Island, Florida, and Patti Thomas of Buchanan; special stepson, Eddie Whiteside, Jr. of Roanoke; grandchildren, Brian Cadd of Las Vegas, Nevada, and Tara (Mike) Shanks of Buchanan; great-grandchildren, Mina (Sam) Brown and William Cadd, both of Fort Wayne, Indiana; special sister and brothers-in law, Dottie Whiteside, Phyllis (Roy) Staton, Lewis Falls and Richard Nuckols; along with special nieces and nephews.
Edith attended elementary school at the former Willow Grove Elementary School in the Cedar Bluff community and was a graduate of Buchanan High School. Edith loved to reminisce about going to school at Willow Grove Elementary and telling stories about her brothers, Luther and Tooke, getting water from the creek for the students to drink.
In her younger years, Edith worked at Lees Carpet in Glasgow. After leaving Lees Carpet, Edith was a homemaker that took pride in her home. She loved to cook and to bake, always making homemade heart-shaped sugar cookies at Valentine’s Day and was always cooking Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners for her family. She also loved gardening and working with flowers. Edith was an excellent seamstress, making her daughters’ clothes when they were children.
Edith was a member of Cedar Bluff Baptist Church in Buchanan. Edith loved singing alto in the church choir with Ada Crane and Lois Painter. She also enjoyed teaching Vacation Bible School. Edith was very dedicated to Baptist Missions and missionary’s work was very important to her. Edith had a very strong faith and believed in the power of prayer and passed that quality to her family. Edith liked to read but the most important book that she read was her Bible and she would read it daily. Edith knew there was a Heaven, and it is comforting to know that she is now in Heaven with her family and friends that went before her.
Edith loved watching and going to NASCAR races with her family and watching college basketball, especially UVA basketball. She was a big Tony Bennett fan, hence the picture of her with her autographed picture from Tony.
Per her wishes, there will be no funeral service, and her burial will be private. As an expression of sympathy, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to St. Jude for Children or to the American Cancer Society. Both charities were near and dear to her heart, especially the American Cancer Society as she was a breast and ovarian cancer survivor.
