Service of Remembrance for Oleatha Edwards, 97, of Hettinger, ND will be Tuesday, January 30, 2007 at 10:30 a.m. at the Hettinger Lutheran Church in Hettinger. Rev. Kathleen Dettmann will officiate and burial will follow at the Lodgepole Cemetery, rural Perkins County, SD. Visitations will be from 1:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Monday, January 29, 2007 at the Evanson Jensen Funeral Home and one hour prior to the service at the church on Tuesday morning. A Family Service will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Monday evening at the Evanson Jensen Funeral Home in Hettinger.

OLEATHA MAY NASH was born on May 13, 1909 in Piedmont, SD to Harry and Addie (Winyall) Nash. At six years of age, her parents moved the family, via covered wagon, from Piedmont to Perkins County, SD and settled on a farm in Glendo Township. Oleatha completed the 8th grade at the Glendo School and graduated from High School in Bison, SD.


While growing up in the Glendo community, Oleatha met her future husband, Frank Edwards, who worked on his grandparents nearby farm, operated by Oleatha's brother-in-law and sister, LD and Merle (Nash) Clark. During the dust bowl years she, along with Frank, found work in orchards near Yakima, Washington. Oleatha married Frank Edwards on November 24, 1934 in Yakima, WA. They returned to South Dakota and in 1936 purchased the homestead of Frank's grandfather Frank Clark. Oleatha and Frank farmed and ranched there until June of 2004, when they moved to Hettinger, ND.


Oleatha and Frank enjoyed more than 70 years of marriage until Frank's death on March 11, 2005. Oleatha was known for her compassion for those less fortunate, her devotion to her family and her love of the out-of-doors, working in her flower gardens. She loved children and was a good teacher for her own children. Those who knew her will remember her as a sensitive and caring person.


Oleatha Edwards passed away at the Hillcrest Care Center in Hettinger on January 26, 2007.

Grateful for having shared her life are her four sons, Warren (Doreen), of Olathe, KS, Earl (Mary Ellen), of Coraopolis, PA, Douglas (Patty), of Hazen, ND, and Wesley (Sharon), of Hettinger, ND ; 15 grandchildren, 20 great grandchildren; one great-great granddaughter and many nieces, nephews and cousins. Preceding Oleatha in death were her parents, her husband Frank on March 11, 2005 and her 13 brothers and sisters. Memorials are preferred to the Hettinger Lutheran Church or the West River Regional Medical Center in Hettinger, or a charity of the donor's choosing.