Edna Wood Gilchriest was born July 28, 1931, to parents, Henry Wood and Lois Rowan Wood. She went to her Heavenly Home on May 22, 2024, in Cleveland, Texas, at the age of 92.
Edna’s family moved to Cleveland as she began her senior year in high school. She had no idea of the impact she would make on a small town in Texas called Cleveland.
After high school, she went to work for Meekin’s Grocery store and married Herbert Gilchriest. The next year she was asked by the owner of Farmer’s State Bank to come to work for the bank. She accepted. Working at the bank, she worked with a lady who later became Sadie Cohn, and they remained steadfast friends for the next seventy years. Edna continued to work for the bank for the next forty years, getting to know literally everyone in the area. She retired from the bank in 1991 as a vice-president and loan officer, and was respected by all who knew her. During this time, Edna and Herbert raised three sons. She was immensely proud of her family and devoted her life to them.
Sadly, Herbert and Edna lost their oldest son, David, in an accident in 1983. Then, Herbert passed away in 1985. Her second son, John, passed away in 2013, and her youngest, Andrew, passed away in 2022. She also lost her parents and all three of her siblings. So there were some tough times in her life, but she accepted all of them with grace and dignity and called upon the Lord to see her through. He did.
The last year and a half has been hard for her because of her health. But she accepted that too and was anxious to go be with the Lord and her family. The Lord does things in his own time and He stood by her until May 22, 2024, He said “Edna, come home.” He took her peacefully, and the young girl from a small town in Texas has reached her final goal.
Edna was preceded in death by her parents, Henry and Lois Wood; husband, Herbert D. Gilchriest; sons, David Gilchriest, John Gilchriest, and Andrew Gilchriest; brothers, Garland Wood and Don Terry; sister, Jean Smith. She is survived by her grandchildren, Josh Gilchriest and wife Kerri, and Jaye Cox and husband Tracey; great-grandchildren, Megan, Abbie, Karlie, and Trey; daughter-in law, Debbie Gilchriest; sisters-in-law, Nora Wood and Charlene Terry; numerous nieces and nephews, cousins and friends.
Visitation is scheduled for Sunday, May 26, 2024, at the Calvary Baptist Church from 2-3 pm. Funeral Service will begin at 3pm with Bro. Carl Williamson officiating. Burial will follow at a later date in the Cleveland Memorial Park Cemetery.