We honor here members, friends and supporters of the American Council of the Blind who have impacted our lives in many wonderful ways. If you would like to submit a notice for this column, please include as much of the following information as possible.
Name (first, last, maiden if appropriate)
City of residence (upon passing)
State/province of residence (upon passing)
Other cities/states/countries of residence (places where other blind people may have known this person)
Occupation
Date of death (day if known, month, year)
Age
ACB affiliation (local/state/special-interest affiliates or national committees)
Deaths that occurred more than six months ago cannot be reported in this column.
Sharon Booker
Sharon Booker of Green Valley, Ariz., passed away on Jan. 18, 2019, after a very short illness. She was 83.
Sharon was an active volunteer in her local Paws Patrol, fostering cats and composing weekly kitty write-ups for the newspaper. Sharon was very active in two churches. She was in the church choir and a grief counselor at Evangelical Free Church and the communications secretary at the Seventh Day Adventist Church. She was also very active in the Arizona Council of the Blind.
Edith Carter
Edith Williams Carter of Knoxville, Tenn., passed away Jan. 8, 2019. She was 83.
She was a member of Bethel United Methodist Church. Throughout her life she was involved with United Methodist Women and the American Council of the Blind. In later years she was a volunteer with Volunteer Ministries. She graduated from National Business College.
Edith was preceded in death by her husband, James O. Carter; parents, Lewis and Estell Williams, brothers, Charlie Williams and Lewis Williams Jr.; sisters, Dorothy Birchett and Ora Underwood. She is survived by her sons, Martin Carter and Andy Carter; grandchildren, William, Amanda and Travis; great-grandson, Tyson; brother, Johnny Williams; sisters, Fae Lowe and Neta Phillips; and several nieces and nephews. Her strength and perseverance were an inspiration to all.
Services were held Jan. 12 at Weaver’s Chapel. Condolences may be left at www.weaverfuneralservices.com
Edythe “Edie” Huffman
Edythe Lynn Simmons Huffman was born in Indianapolis on March 15, 1951, the eldest child of Mark E. Simmons and Louise Grigsby Simmons. She grew up in Starke County, Ind., where both parents taught in the Knox Community Schools.
She pursued an undergraduate degree at Indiana University where she met her husband, John Huffman, of Lebanon, Ind. While both were living and working in North Carolina, she received her Master of Science in Library Science degree and worked as a librarian in Milwaukee, Wis., Cleveland, Ohio, Minneapolis, Minn., and during two separate periods, at the Indiana State Library. Their son, Marc, was born while they lived in Milwaukee.
Edie was an active member of the National Library Association, and during her second stint at the Indiana State Library, her job brought her into frequent contact with other librarians and library administrators around the state. She made valuable contributions to the quality of public library services throughout Indiana. She retired from the library in 2013, but she continued to keep up contacts with the many friends she had made there while working to improve the quality and organization of archival collections gifted to the library.
Edie had many interests beyond her professional career. She was passionate about books and reading for their own sakes. She loved crochet and took up knitting in her retirement. Many premature babies benefitted from the little afghans she made, and many friends and relatives received gifts of needlework she created. Two of her afghans are on display here today. She sang in choirs and volunteered much time to other ministries of those churches. She was a member of the ACB of Indiana from 2000 until her passing, and served for several years as secretary of the group. She also served as a leader in local women’s groups, and as treasurer of local chapter 151 of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees. She was an honorary member of the Alumni Association of the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, of which her husband was an active member and officer.
In addition to her parents, Edie is survived by her husband, John; their son, Marc, of Bloomington, Ind.; siblings Julie Graham and husband George of New York; Malcolm Simmons and wife Yvonne of Texas; Joyce Crawford and husband Rick of California; and Donna Araya and husband David of California. Survivors also include nieces, a nephew, a great-nephew, and two great-nieces: Jessica Poole, Allison Crawford, Eric Crawford, Alicia Franks, Holly Simmons, Ethan Franks, Ella Poole, and Katie Poole.
In lieu of flowers, the family requested that friends make donations to St. Luke’s United Methodist Church Chancel Choir at 100 W. 86th St., Indianapolis, IN 46260, the Crochet Guild of Indianapolis, The ACB Angel Wall, or an organization of their choice in Edie’s name.
ACB of Indiana wishes to show its appreciation for Edie by giving her a place on the ACB Angel Wall. If you are inclined to donate in Edie’s memory, please consider any amount for this cause. You may send your donation, made out to ACB, with Edie Huffman Angel in the memo line, to ACB, 6300 Shingle Creek Pkwy., Suite 195, Brooklyn Center, MN 55430.
Mary Katherine Jones
On Nov. 14, 2018, less than six weeks from her 90th birthday, Mary Katherine Jones of Greensboro, N.C., left us with enduring memories and a legacy of service to the blind and visually impaired. For the past two decades she endeavored to fulfill the commitment of her late husband, Brady, one of the founding members of the North Carolina Council of the Blind. She was a fixture at ACB’s national convention until health issues affected her ability to travel. She never passed up an opportunity to encourage and mentor new council members and to remind us of our roots in ACB and the blindness movement.
Mary Katherine was a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother who was devoted to her family and church. In many respects she represented the last living link to the origins of the NCCB. She was an unabashed fan of former ACB president Paul Edwards. Her friendly greetings, warm smiles and words of encouragement will be missed.