Mrs. Edith F. Mercer

Mom’s beautiful paintings. The way she’d sew clothing for you, in coutourier style. Mom’s savory apple pie and delicious cookies. And how she loved her family more than anything else in the world. This is the person Edith Ford Mercer was -- kind, considerate and caring. She always put everyone else before herself. Yet, God wanted her more on March 5, 2013 -- more than we on earth needed her. But we’ll always need her and will miss her terribly. Edith peacefully passed unto the Lord that Tuesday, surrounded by her family. She was in comfort, without any pain. She smiled on hearing fine family adventures recounted that day. She also opened her beautiful blue eyes one final time see her children at her side. The heavens poured tears of rain later that Tuesday, too, as though to lament the loss of one of God’s best on earth. Born Edith Jessie Cooper Ford in Motherwell, Scotland, in 1919, Edith emigrated to the United States with her Mother and Father and two siblings when she was just three years old. The Ford family settled in northern New Jersey, where they embraced Americana and became citizens. Growing healthy and strong there, Edith graduated from Mendham High School, in Mendham, N.J. and then studied to become a registered nurse through the Orange Memorial Hospital nursing program in Orange, N.J. World War II then called the young. Edith responded, enrolling as an U.S. Army nurse. She soon found herself on a troop ship, headed to Iceland. That journey led to an encounter with a young Army man named Harold Mercer. In Iceland, the two dated, and subsequently fell in love during work excursions and journeys together. Married after the war to Harold, Edith settled in Cambridge, Mass., while her husband attended Harvard Law School. She worked as a R.N. at a Boston hospital and also attended art school, where she was able to pursue her passion -- painting. She relished the work putting charcoal, watercolors or oils on sketch paper and canvas, leaving behind works of art her children always will cherish. And when her children, Susan and Mark, came along, Edith dedicated her energies toward caring for her husband and them as a loving wife and mother. She implanted an excellent foundation that always will form a part of her scions’ characters. Good work inspires great achievements. Edith and her family next lived in New York state, England and, lastly, in Asheville, where she was a proud resident for more than 30 years. While living in this beautiful city, she enjoyed life to the fullest, making many fine friends and enjoying every day to its fullest. She is survived by her children -- daughter Susan Mercer Hinrichs, and son-in-law Rand Hinrichs; son Mark F. Mercer and his wife, Jacquie Thompson Mercer; grandchildren Dallas and Berkley Mercer; and many nephews and nieces. Edith was predeceased in death by her husband, Harold A. Mercer; her mother and father, Jean and William Ford; her brother, William Ford, Jr., and sister, Frances Chapman. Edith’s visitation will take place Fri., March 8, from 5-7 p.m., at Morris Funeral Home, 304 Merrimon Ave., in Asheville. A graveside service will be held Saturday, March 9, at 2 p.m., at Lewis Memorial Park, 415 Beaverdam Rd., in Asheville. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be made in her memory to St. Jude’s Hospital, Memphis, TN.

Tributes

Mrs. Edith F. Mercer

October 14, 1919 - March 5, 2013