Wilma Hunter Edwards left this earth to be with her Maker at sunrise on Wednesday, May 8, 2008 at the age of 95 years, 11 months and 16 days. Born in Howell County, Missouri to Clara Meagher Hunter and James Monroe Hunter, Wilma spent the next 95 years learning, loving, laughing, serving and staying active. Wilma was raised as the only daughter in a hardworking farm and business family. Her three brothers (Bernice, Paul and Willard) were her constant companions. As a child, Wilma rode a pony (and later an old mule) to her school house, with her older brother Willard walking alongside. After she finished school, Wilma attended the former SMS (now Missouri State University) in Springfield, MO. As one of the youngest freshmen in her class, she once again relied on her beloved brother Willard for guidance and support. Upon completion of her education at SMS, where she was active in women's athletics and academic and social organizations, Wilma got a job teaching in the Richards R-1 school district in Howell County. It was there that she fell in love with fellow-educator and principal, Dwight Everett Edwards. Wilma and Dwight were the first teachers at the Richards R-1 school. During their engagement, they pooled their salaries and saved enough money to buy a Western Auto franchise. The couple married May 11, 1940. They settled in St. James immediately after their marriage and opened their business, but not long afterwards, Dwight was called into service for World War II. Instead of returning home to live with her parents in West Plains, Wilma decided to keep the store running. She thrived in the business environment, loving the people she worked with, served and met each day. She lived in a boarding house with several other women in St. James until Dwight returned to her side after the war.

Wilma was a member of First Baptist Church in St. James where she served for many, many years as a Sunday School teacher, a member of the choir, and in many other capacities. She was a member of the Eastern Star, the St. James Lions Club, and the St. James Chamber of Commerce for decades.

Wilma and Dwight wanted children, but had a hard time becoming parents. On December 12, 1948, their only child, a son, was born in St. Louis. In 1983, their son Dwayne married Martha K. Prine of New Orleans, LA, and a few years later, Wilma and Dwight were blessed with two devoted grandchildren - Amy Catherine and Gregory Everett.

Wilma never knew a stranger. She loved people and was an active participant in life until the very end. When her grandchildren were small, she was determined that they would learn to read before they started school. Leaning on her teaching skills from the past, she created a phonetic flipchart that she would drag out of the closet any time her grandchildren visited. She loved math and spent many hours making flash cards for her grandchildren, too. She was a firm believer that education was a key element to a successful life, and that belief was successfully passed on to her grandchildren. Her granddaughter is in graduate school at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, and her grandson will attend her alma mater in Springfield this fall.

When Dwight and Wilma sold their Western Auto store in 1982, they took some time off, traveled to Alaska and Hawaii, and came back to St. James to remodel the building next door to the Western Auto. That building ultimately became Wilma's Gifts. Wilma spent many happy hours as a merchant, but her family appreciated the other side of Wilma - a side that few got to know. Wilma loved to travel in her earlier years and to collect things from her travels to display in her home. Wilma, Dwight and Dwayne traveled many miles together through the years, all over the United States and Canada, with dear family friends - the late Phil and Ivy Osterholt of St. James. Wilma didn't do a lot of cooking, but when she did, she created some delicious dishes. Ironically, she was an avid collector of recipes. She had boxes and boxes of recipes she'd cut out of magazines and newspapers over the decades. When a church dinner was approaching, she would look through her massive amount of recipes and pick one to prepare. Her candied baked apples were legendary. Wilma planted a flower garden every spring at the family farm.

As a wife, Wilma stood by her husband faithfully and lovingly until his last breath. Dwight gave her the nickname "Bill" early on in their relationship, and her eyes would light up when he called her by that nickname.

Wilma loved her adopted hometown of St. James, and she was passionate about making it a better place for future generations. She especially loved the children of St. James, and over the years has kept in touch with numerous former Sunday School students and "customers" at her store. Wilma and Dwight were passionate about the St. James Tigers boys and girls basketball teams. They were fixtures at home and away games for well over half a century.

Wilma Hunter Edwards was preceded in death by her parents, devoted husband, Dwight Everett Edwards, her brothers Bernice, Willard and Paul and her sisters-in-law. She was also preceded in death by her Uncle Will (for whom she was named). Uncle Will served as one of the most supportive and inspiring figures in her young life, in addition to her parents' influence. She is survived by her son, Dwayne, and his wife Martha, her grandchildren Amy and Greg, sisters-in-law Opal McLain and Alma Edwards, and a host of nieces and nephews, cousins and dear friends. She will be sorely missed and fondly remembered by generations of those she knew and loved.

Wilma would like to be remembered as someone who "loved everybody" and someone who tried to brighten the lives of those around her.

Services
Visitation for Wilma will be from 6 - 8 PM on Friday, May, 9, 2008 at the Jones Funeral Home Chapel in St. James, Missouri.

Funeral services will be conducted on Saturday, May 10, 2008 at 11 AM at the Jones Funeral Home Chapel in St. James, Missouri with Steve Barber officiating. Pallbearers will be John Scott, Joe Hunter, Earl Pilger, Greg Edwards, John Wiemann, and Bill Smoot. Music will be provided by Patty Smoot with Lawanda Smoot at the organ. Burial will be in the family plot in the St. James Cemetery in St. James, Missouri.

Memorials are suggested to The Tour of Missouri Fund for St. James.

All arrangements are under the direction of the Jones Funeral Home in St. James, Missouri.