Edith Gertrude Minuth of Saluda, Va., and previously Madison Heights, Mich., passed away on Friday, Nov. 15, 2013, at Riverside Walter Reed Hospital in Gloucester, Va., with her family by her side.

 

She was born on Feb. 12, 1924, in Danzig, Germany, and came to America with her family by ship when she was eight months old. 

 

Spending most of her life in Michigan, Edith was employed by Sears in Highland Park, Troy, and Detroit for over 35 years. She was also a member of the Neighborhood Crime Watch in Detroit for many years and spoke often of her adventures to help keep Detroit safe. 

 

Edith was a longtime volunteer for Meals on Wheels with a Baptist Church in Royal Oak, Mich. She was known for bringing in Belgian cookies and chocolates to share with everyone and was honored when people referred to her as the “kooky cookie lady.” When she moved to Gloucester, she continued that tradition by regularly bringing cookies to the visitors at Gloucester Senior Center.

 

In her later years, she overcame a lifelong fear of flying to travel to Germany to rediscover her birthplace. Her favorite places to visit were Salzburg and Monte See, Austria, where she could imagine herself in the movie “The Sound of Music.”

 

She is survived by a brother, Harry Max Minuth of Saluda; nieces and nephews, Loraine Urbaniak, Eileen Urbaniak, Denis Urbaniak and his wife Rita of Michigan, Glenn Minuth and Brian Minuth of California, Margaret Minuth of North Carolina, and Karyn (Minuth) Gallion and her husband Jacob, and Brittany Haywood of Virginia; and her special friends, Louise Gay and family of Novi, Mich., Kevin Strzalka of Canton, Mich., and Anne Lamers, Ageeth (Jak) and Rutger Lamers of The Netherlands.

 

The family offers sincere thanks to the staff of Sanders Retirement Village and Riverside Walter Reed Hospital for their care in her last weeks. A family service is planned.

 

Arrangements by Bristow-Faulkner Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Saluda.