JoAnn Burton Edwards

JoAnn Burton Edwards, age 87, of Uniontown passed away peacefully on Friday, October 25, after a long illness. She was surrounded by love at the end, and it was love she gave her entire life.
Born in 1932 in Flemington, West Virginia, JoAnn was the seventh of eight siblings. With her mother, on the farm, and her daddy, in the mines, she knew only the wild hills of Appalachia in her youngest days. A graduate of Flemington High School, the girl her classmates described as “always smiling” married her Bible study beau, James F. Edwards, Jr. in 1952. They moved to his Air Force base in Biloxi, Mississippi. JoAnn saw the ocean for the first time and threw herself into the adventures of life.
In her adult years, JoAnn and James raised three children. JoAnn worked as a secretary at the Red Cross and Laurel Highlands Senior High School, sewing and knitting in her free time. She tended a garden of brilliant flowers. JoAnn was also an active member of the Uniontown Music Club and the Beta Sigma Phi social sorority. With her family, she attended Great Bethel Baptist Church, singing alto in the choir. She loved her Lord Jesus and dedicated her life to serving him.
JoAnn is survived by her loving husband of sixty-seven years, James, and their children, Michael Edwards (Sherri), Mark Edwards (Karen), and Jill Edwards Delor (William), and her brother, Tom Burton. She was an incredible, generous grandmother to eight grandchildren: Christie Edwards, Wesley Edwards (Marieli), Alison Copen (Kirk), Bethany McCoy (Tom), Rebekah McGee (Jesse), Emily Keith, Sean Edwards, and Daniel Keith. Jo Ann and James were loving great-grandparents to thirteen great-grandchildren: Alexander and Nicholas Edwards, Naomi, Isaac, Caleb, Noelle and Isobel Copen, Alexis, Tristan and Cylas McCoy, Noah, Elizabeth, and Idelette McGee. Her family lit up her life.
She is preceded in passing by her parents, Frank and Bonnie Batson Burton, sisters Roberta Yeatman, Ruth Burton Campbell, and Mary Burton Heimbaugh, and brothers James Burton, William Burton, and Lawson Eugene (Bud) Burton.
Friends will be received at the Andrew D. Ferguson Funeral Home & Crematories, Inc, 80 Morgantown Street, Uniontown on Sunday from 1 to 4 PM and 6 to 8 PM. Viewing will continue on Monday, October 28, 2019 in the funeral home from 10 to 11 AM with a funeral service celebrating JoAnn’s life taking place at 11 AM. Pastors David Rasmussen and Mark Edwards will officiate the service. Entombment will be held in the Chapel of Memories, Sylvan Heights Cemetery.
She was tenacious. She was gentle. She loved dogs. She hated the cold. She was a masterful baker. Her lipstick was always pink. She kept a birdbath. She wrote poetry. She played piano. She was loyal. She sewed her granddaughter’s dresses. She loved to dance. She ate ice cream at every opportunity. Grandchildren dressed up in her jewelry. She was a giver and a leader and black coffee drinker. She was love, and love, and love.
Memories and condolence may be shared with the family at adferguson.com or the funeral home Facebook page. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Great Bethel Baptist Church, 47 W. Fayette St, Uniontown, PA.