Obituary of Edna Maxwell

Edna Marie Maxwell, 95 years old, died on Wednesday, November 29, 2017, at Aurora Hospital, near her home in Wadsworth, Illinois. 

She was born on July 20, 1922, in Nokomis, Christian County, Illinois, the youngest child and only daughter, with five brothers, of Christina (Misegadis) and Henry Engelhart.  She was raised in the rural community of Nokomis and graduated from Nokomis High School in 1939.  During World War II, she worked in the clerical pool at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois.  She met her future husband, Donald Royce Maxwell, while working in Waukegan, Illinois.  They were married in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1942, during the time Mr. Maxwell was serving in the U.S. Navy.  After the war, Mr. Maxwell worked as Plant Manager for Kalva Corporation in Waukegan, Illinois.  The couple bought rural property in Wadsworth, Illinois, in the 1950s where they built a beautiful house and farm and enjoyed raising their four children as well as sheep, gardens and crops.  They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1992.  Throughout her life, Mrs. Maxwell immensely enjoyed the company of her family and friends and many trips to Nokomis, Virginia, Tennessee, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Hawaii, where her husband had been stationed. 

She was predeceased by her husband, Donald Maxwell, and her five brothers. 

She is survived by her four children, Linda Unseth (Allan) of Virginia Beach, Virginia, Douglas Maxwell (Mary Lou Lindahl) of Palmer, Alaska, Margo Maxwell (Bob Bates) of Oliver Springs, Tennessee, and Marla Diamond (Paul) of Wadsworth, Illinois.  She was the beloved “Grammy” to nine grandsons and two granddaughters and to thirteen great-grandchildren, and cherished “Aunt Eddie Ree” to many nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.  Her grandchildren will serve as her pallbearers.  She became a member of Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church in Waukegan, Illinois, in 1939, and attended faithfully all her life.   

Services will be held at Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church at 1310 N. Frolic Avenue, Waukegan, Illinois, on Saturday, December 2, 2017 at 1:30 p.m., with visitation to be held from 1:00 p.m. until 1:30 p.m.