Death Notice: Madeline Adell Edwards
On the evening of Saturday, May 15, 2021, at about 5pm, Madeline Adell Wells Edwards, a piece of Hood River Valley history, left this earth to be with her Lord and Savior. Thanks to the loving and dedicated care of her son Thomas Edwards, who was at her side, she was able to peacefully depart this world from the beloved home that she and her husband shared. She will be missed by so many.
Madeline was the last of the true pioneer stock and a descendant of some of the earliest settlers to arrive in the Hood River Valley. Her life spanned 98 years and 241 days – she was a mere 4 months short of her 99th birthday.
Madeline Adell Wells was the second of three children born to Clifford and Dorothy (Taylor) Wells. She had an older brother named Merwin Clifford “Jim” and a younger sister, Adrienne “Addie.” She was born September 16, 1922 in Portland, at Mrs. Poyfair’s Maternity Home. She was raised in Hood River where she attended Barrett Grade School. She later graduated 10th in her class of 115 students from Hood River High School in 1940.
Madeline grew up on a 50-acre fruit farm on Alameda Way just off of Belmont Road. In her own words, “On the northeast corner of Alameda at Belmont was a large grove of pine trees, around each of them there grew a climbing rose, named Dorothy Perkins, very pretty small pink blossoms. We always thought they were so lovely and everywhere grew purple crocus.”
Madeline’s childhood on the farm was full of family, friends, and fond memories. Triumph and heartache. Extended family and friends gathered often at the farm for picnics, reunions and holidays. Madeline was close with her many, many cousins. When the farm chores were complete, which included cooking and cleaning since her mother worked nights at the cannery, she recalled playing games like Run Sheep Run, Kick the Can, Annie Over (throwing the ball over the house roof) and Mother May I? Again, in her own words, “Indian Creek ran through the middle of the farm and we children had fun playing in it, fishing and catching crawdads, which Mother cooked for us. The creek was dammed up into a pond and beside it there was a building in which people could change clothes when going swimming.”
Madeline described her family environment growing up in four words. “Reading. Music. Dancing. Singing.” Her earliest childhood memory, from the age of about 4, was singing “Love Lifted Me” with her sister at church in Portland while visiting her grandparents. This would be the start of a long life of singing and duetting with her sister Addie and their friends. Another favorite tune was “Neapolitan Nights.” She came from a musical family and, to go along with her wonderful singing voice, she learned to play the piano, organ, saxophone and acoustic guitar. “We always had music in the family,” she remembered, “We all sang and played instruments. We were all quite faithful practicing music lessons.”
She was also a faithful Christian with a lifelong relationship to Christ. Another of her fondest childhood memories was attending the Valley Christian Church, which sat at the north end of Alameda Way along Barrett Road. This is where she was baptized and where she participated in the first Sunday school classes. Bible stories were some of her favorite things to read and she recalled, “Mother and Grandmother read to us often and we all developed the desire to read.”
After graduating from high school in 1940 it was a huge disappointment for Madeline that she was unable to attend college due to “lack of money.” She always wished to be a doctor or a scientist of some kind. “I wanted to become a doctor and was always interested in anything that related to medicine or care of the body.” Despite the fact that she wasn’t able to attend college and train as a doctor or scientist, she was always passionate about reading and self-education, especially later in life, and could even be found reading her old set of encyclopedias in recent years.
Since she could not attend college Madeline began a job with the National Youth Association where she enjoyed working for the Public Health Nurse. She was also proud of her attendance at church music workshops from 1965-69 at the University of Puget Sound. “I learned much about directing choir and playing organ and piano.”
In June of 1941, at the age of 18, Madeline was married in Hood River at her beloved Valley Christian Church to Maynard “Chris” Christensen. Directly after their marriage the couple moved to Monmouth, where Chris was studying at Oregon College of Education. Then, to assist in the war effort, the two put their lives on hold and moved to Portland. Chris eventually got a job in the Vancouver shipyards while Madeline got bookkeeping work - first for the George H. Buckler Company, then at the Terminal Flour Milling Company - until the war ended. After the war was over they moved back to Monmouth so Chris could complete school. Then the couple resettled in Hood River with Chris working as a teacher and principal at Pine Grove School. Together they had two daughters - Eileen Adrienne was born in 1945 and Jeanne Adell in 1948.
In May of 1952 Madeline married the love of her life, Charles “Charlie” Edwards in Fresno, California. Their marriage was an incredible partnership. They would go on to be married for 53 years parted only by his death in June of 2005. Together they built a home for themselves and her daughters in Fresno. Their son, Thomas Charles, was born in 1955. The family of five lived in Fresno for nearly a decade before returning to Hood River in 1961 to take up farming on the east side of the valley just off of Dethman Ridge Road near the area of Pine Grove. Charlie learned from his father-in-law Cliff how to successfully tend orchard. He and Madeline ran Edwards Orchards as a team for years, and were eventually joined by their son. Madeline was always especially proud of her job as the company’s bookkeeper. They remodeled a home on the family property, next door to her parents, for themselves. This was the home they shared for the remainder of their lives and where they both passed away. Madeline’s favorite part of the house, something she enjoyed until the very day she died, was the view North from the living room of the Hood River Valley and Mount Adams.
Madeline and Charlie were active in the Hood River Valley Church, helping to build the church itself, teaching Sunday School, singing in the choir, and attending Bible Study. Madeline even played piano and organ at times, and for 14 years she was the choir director. The two were also active and involved in the rest of the community and had a large circle of friends with whom they golfed, played games, and went out dancing. She reconnected with her high school classmates upon her return to Hood River, relished attending her high school reunions, and met up regularly for lunches with her classmates. Madeline joined flower arranging groups and gardening clubs. She loved to cook, bake, and entertain. She was a talented seamstress, made many of her children’s clothes, and also enjoyed knitting caps for newborns to donate to the hospital. Madeline and Charlie traveled together all over the world, with annual winter trips to Maui being a highlight each year.
She loved animals, especially cats, and adored watching the Weather Channel. She faithfully watched Jeopardy until the day Alex Trebek died (it just wasn’t the same without him, she said). But until then, the family knew not to call her when the show was on. She loved sweets, strawberries, and cinnamon raisin bread. She credited her mother for her sewing and cooking skills, while she said her love of gardening and flowers came from her father. She could identify every bird and flower. Madeline liked crosswords and Sudoku puzzles, listening to her favorite hymns on her iPad, and always wanted to learn something new.
In addition to her love of art, (especially photography), crafts, and hobbies, Madeline was a dedicated member of the State Christian Women’s Fellowship Board, the Rebekahs Lodge, the Order of the Eastern Star, the Back Acre Garden Club, the Hood River Community Concert Board, the Mid-Columbia Chamber Chorus, the Pioneer Association, the Hood River County Museum Board (20 years), and the Daughters of the American Revolution. She had a lifelong passion for researching family ancestry. She loved not only her ancestors but also her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, and nephews very much. Through her love of family history she created a profound moment of connection for one of her grandsons between himself and his ancestors. He follows in her footsteps as the family historian. The two shared many hours over the years discussing her thorough, precise research and pouring over the family records, photographs, and memorabilia that Madeline had so patiently and painstakingly collected.
Madeline Edwards was an incredibly tough, determined woman who lived life on her own terms, and with Jesus by her side. In her own words, “I have had a strong faith in God and His purpose for my life ever since I was baptized at age fourteen.”
Services are planned for 11:00 a.m., Thursday, May 27th, 2021 at Valley Christian Church (975 Indian Creek Road, Hood River, Oregon 97031). Graveside committal services will follow at Pine Grove Butte Cemetery of Hood River, Oregon at a later date.
