Family Pays Tribute To Myrtle Edness

January 30, 2023

The family of Myrtle Edness, who died recently aged 108, have paid tribute to a “strong ambassador for Bermuda” who led a “healthy and vibrant life”.

Ms Edness, believed to be Bermuda’s oldest resident, enjoyed an almost daily ritual of swimming in the sea, which she continued into her 109th year and attributed her longevity to salt water and exercise.

Her daughter Maureen Edness Eddy remembers: “She loved the water and swam all her life.

“From Monday to Friday, 5.30 am. to 6:30 a.m., she and some of her neighborhood friends walked from the Southshore Gas Station to Horseshoe Bay, went swimming and walked back.

“Sometimes the bus passed them on the way to Hamilton and drove them home.”

Born on Ord Road, Paget, on 17 July 1914, Ms Edness moved to Somerset as a small girl with her siblings Lillian and Gerald Jr and attended Paget Glebe School.

On 25 September 1944 she married her childhood friend and neighbour, the late carpenter Arnold Edness, with her husband who built the family home on “Billy Goat Hill” – Tribe Road No 1 – in Warwick, where she lived with her family has.

Ms. Edness had two children, Maureen and the late Alan Edness, three grandchildren, Alex, Jason and Melanie, and a great-granddaughter, Alaya. Her niece is Dame Jennifer Smith, the former prime minister.

Ms Edness ran a grocery store with her husband, AJ Edness Grocery on South Shore Road, Warwick, for 29 years until she retired in 1978. Mr Edness died in 1977.

She also worked as a young woman at The Bermuda Recorder, driving to Somerset, delivering advertising receipts to local businesses and collecting subscriptions for the paper.

Her grandson Jason, an actor, remembers her zest for life, penchant for making new friends and stickler for manners.

“I remember coming home, and there would be tourists in the house, people she met at the beach or in Hamilton,” he told Bernews.

“She would invite them to her house, feed them, talk to them about Bermuda and tell them all the places they had to go. She was always keen to show Bermudian spirit.”

He added: “We’ve always stayed at my grandma’s house, and our friends in high school learned very quickly if they wanted to talk to us on the phone, they’d be hung up on if they just said, ‘Hi, is Jason there? ?’ They had to say good evening or good afternoon!”

Devoted to Christ Church in Warwick, Ms Edness was known for her community spirit and was one of the oldest volunteers at Masterworks Bermuda.

She also lent her time to organizations such as the Samaritans’ Lodge and the Girl Guides and worked as a volunteer at the hospital in the Alzheimer’s unit.

Her granddaughter Melanie Eddy, a jewelery designer, added: “She loved to joke and had a sense of humour. She didn’t drive a car, but she got by, initially on a bicycle. When she was in her early 90’s we were worried she was on her pedal bike so she started busing and ferrying everywhere! She was very active and independent.”

An email account, [email protected], has been set up by the family in her memory where people can share their favorite stories of Ms Edness.