Artie Irene Blocker Edmonds

Funeral services for Artie Irene Blocker Edmonds, 99, resident of Belton, Texas, were held at 2:00 p.m., on Wednesday, April 5, 2017 at Adams Funeral Home in Marlin Texas. Burial followed at Hillcrest Cemetery, Marlin.

Mrs. Edmonds was a long time resident of Marlin, moving there from Teague, Texas, in the summer of 1961. She lived in Marlin until March, 2000, when she moved to Belton to be near her daughter.

Mrs. Edmonds passed away peacefully on Thursday, March 30, 2017, at her home in Belton after a short illness.

Artie Edmonds was born October 20, 1917 in the North Elm Community near Cameron, Texas. She was the daughter of Myrtle Fuller Blocker and Robert Lee Blocker.

She was united in marriage to James Milam Edmonds on May 28, 1945 in Cameron, Texas. He preceded her in death December 12, 1980.

Artie was a homemaker, seamstress and avid gardener. While she lived in Belton, she was an active participant and advocate for the RUOkay? senior support program through the Belton Police Department, starring in their informational video.

Mrs. Edmonds was a member of the Church of Christ. She was baptized into the Church at the age of 16.

She is survived by her daughter, Sheila Edmonds Donahue of Belton; 4 grandsons: Erik Daniel Edmonds, Nicholas James Edmonds, Jarden Griffin Edmonds and Vandon Morgan Donahue; 3 great grand daughters: Isabella, Sophia and Emma Edmonds; daughter in law: Vicki Sue Griffin; sister Thelma Rae Brown; numerous nieces and nephews.

In addition to her husband, Mrs. Edmonds was preceded in death by her son, Danny James Edmonds, in 1992, her brothers Oscar Lee Blocker, Charlie Blocker, R. L. Blocker and sisters Annie Mae Blocker and Ruby Blocker.

The family of Mrs. Edmonds would like to extend loving thanks to Hospice Compassus with Dr. Vaught and nurses Cheryl and Elsa; her caregiver, Sandra Taylor, as well as her primary care physician Dr. Roger Kylberg.

It is very likely that she would have lived many more years if cancer had not claimed her.

Artie endeared herself to everyone she met.

Things she loved:
God, her savior Jesus and his church
Her family
Singing and all kinds of music, plays and musical theatre
Working in the yard and feeding the birds — her favorite bird was the mocking bird and her favorite flower was the rose which grew in abundance in the yard.
People—all people but especially young ones. She never wanted to hang around with "all those old people".
The Belton Police Department and the RUOkay? program in Belton.
She was featured in their informational program video on the Belton PD web site
She loved waving at the police as they would drive by the house as she worked in the yard.
She loved the Meals on Wheels ladies who delivered both lunch and lively conversation at lunch each day: Cherris, Bonnie, Sarah
Her nurses from Hospice Compassus: Elsa and Cheryl
Her primary care physician: Roger Kylberg


Artie loved learning and often spoke about the value of education and how important it was in her life and the lives of her children. She spoke about learning how to write on the side of her grandmother's cistern using a piece of broken china for chalk. She said she would cover the cistern completely, then erase it and begin again. She loved to go to school, always crediting her teacher at North Elm, Miss Mary, for sparking her love for reading and learning.

She often told stories about her childhood, such as, the day her brother talked her into getting into a barrel and then rolling her off the side of a steep ditch. She survived and learned a valuable lesson in caution that day.

Another time, they climbed a tall tree which they had been warned to stay out of and her brother, R. L., shook the limb she was on. She fell from the tree, landing on her back and knocking out her breath. Her mother rushed to her side and Artie said, "I told her good bye because I knew I was dying." As soon as she got her breath back and her mother saw that she was otherwise uninjured, she received a thorough spanking. Again, she learned a valuable lesson.

She often talked about the lazy days she spent with her brother, R. L., riding the mules "all over the country" exploring, hunting, fishing and swimming. She recalled a story one day of having found a nest with a "beautiful golden bird" in it. She and R. L. carried it home thinking they had found a treasure only to discover that they had stolen a baby buzzard. After yet another thorough spanking, they returned the baby buzzard to the nest with it vomiting all the way back.

Artie always prided herself on being quite a matchmaker and would often recount tales of matching up young men and women at church. Even from her death bed, 4 days before her death, as we stood around the bed singing, she remained a matchmaker. She asked where Vandon was. She then gestured toward Haley and Rachel who stood at her bedside. Her sense of humor and her desire to make good matches remained until the end of her life.

About a week before she died, she told me that she supposed that she had accomplished what God had set out for her to do in this life. Not a day passed that she did not wonder aloud at her long life and read her Bible hoping to find out why she was so blessed to still be alive, and working to discover what God wanted her to do.

When she wasn't working in the yard, she liked to cook and would often prepare treats for the young people who visited in our home in Marlin. One of the most memorable stories was of the day she prepared a sweet potato pie for Joe Geiger. When they sat down at the table to cut into the pie, they discovered it was green inside. She was mortified and Joe never let her forget it.

Artie Edmonds was a fighter. She was never a quitter. She always did what she thought was right and she reared her children to be the same way. She was invincible.

Had cancer not stolen her away, I am certain she would have lived well beyond her 100th birthday.

Since she loved her garden so well, I wrote a memorial poem for her:

Mother's Garden

The tiny leaves emerge along the branches
Wisteria, Dutch iris come and go.
The roses are abloom with riotous color
Along with other flowers that you know.

So spring has come again, your favorite season
To work among the flowers as they bloom
Yet, this spring, you'll be celebrating elsewhere
Within the gates of heaven finding room.

Rejoice among the lilies of the valley
That bloom along the golden street above
And sing the sweetest song in all creation
Content within the Father's arms of love.

We'll miss you in each season as it passes.
We'll think of you when winter comes to call
But when the roses bloom again in springtime,
It's then that we will miss you most of all.

by Sheila Donahue

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Funeral services for Artie Irene Blocker Edmonds, 99, resident of Belton, Texas, will be held at 2:00 p.m., on Wednesday, April 5, 2017 at Adams Funeral Home in Marlin Texas. Burial will follow at Hillcrest Cemetery, Marlin. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service. Mrs. Edmonds was a long time resident of Marlin, moving there from Teague, Texas, in the summer of 1961. She lived in Marlin until March, 2000, when she moved to Belton to be near her daughter.Mrs. Edmonds passed away peacefully on Thursday, March 30, 2017, at her home in Belton after a short illness. Artie Edmonds was born October 20, 1917 in the North Elm Community near Cameron, Texas. She was the daughter of Myrtle Fuller Blocker and Robert Lee Blocker. She was united in marriage to James Milam Edmonds on May 28, 1945 in Cameron, Texas. He preceded her in death December 12, 1980. Artie was a homemaker, seamstress and avid gardener. While she lived in Belton, she was an active participant and advocate for the RUOkay? senior support program through the Belton Police Department, starring in their informational video.Mrs. Edmonds was a member of the Church of Christ. She was baptized into the Church at the age of 16.She is survived by her daughter, Sheila Edmonds Donahue of Belton; 4 grandsons: Erik Daniel Edmonds, Nicholas James Edmonds, Jarden Griffin Edmonds and Vandon Morgan Donahue; 3 great grand daughters: Isabella, Sophia and Emma Edmonds; daughter in law: Vicki Sue Griffin; sister Thelma Rae Brown; sister in law: Jean Krall; numerous nieces and nephews. In addition to her husband, Mrs. Edmonds was preceded in death by her son, Danny James Edmonds, in 1992, her brothers Oscar Lee Blocker, Charlie Blocker, R. L. Blocker and sisters Annie Mae Blocker and Ruby Blocker.The family of Mrs. Edmonds would like to extend loving thanks to Hospice Compassus with Dr. Vaught and nurses Cheryl and Elsa; her caregiver, Sandra Taylor, as well as her primary care physician Dr. Roger Kylberg. We further offer our thanks to the Belton Senior Center and the Meals on Wheels program and the volunteers who work in that program, especially Cherris, Sarah and Bonnie.Arrangements under the direction of Adams Funeral Home, Marlin, TX.