Margery Swan Huff Edson-Gould

Margery Swan Huff Edson-Gould

Margery Swan Huff Edson-Gould died Tuesday, May 6, 2008, at the Laurels of Charlottesville. The cause of death was complications from pneumonia.

She was born in Grinnell, Iowa, on June 20, 1915, during a freak summer snowstorm, the second of seven children born to Victoria Swan and Harry J. Huff.

The family followed the career of Harry, a member of the 1908 Olympic team, who went on to coach track at the Universities of Kansas and Missouri. Margery earned a B.S. in physical education at the University of Missouri in 1936. There she met Arthur Lewis Edson, and they were married in December 1936. In 1945 they moved to Alexandria, Virginia, where Arthur worked for the Associated Press, first as a sports writer, then as a columnist and political writer, and Margery raised her four daughters. She was active in volunteer work, especially the Girl Scouts, rising to the position of president of the Fairfax County Council. During her tenure the Council bought land for a camp near Stafford, Virginia.

Margery returned to full-time work as a physical education teacher at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia, in 1958. She earned her Master's in Guidance, Counseling and Administration at George Washington University, and became a counselor at Wakefield in 1963. She was promoted to Director of Guidance and Assistant Principal in 1967. In 1975, she moved to Hoffman-Boston-Woodlawn and served as one of the first female high school principals in the area. During her career in Arlington County she was especially proud of her work in human relations and diversity training to help the schools make a smooth transition during racial integration. She retired in 1980 and worked for a while as a travel agent, before moving to Scottsville, VA. Having been widowed in 1969, she married David H. Gould in 1980, thus acquiring a beloved family of stepchildren. In Scottsville she was active in Southside Fellowship, the James River Book Club, and the Scottsville Museum. With David she enjoyed extensive travels, including a 5-month Pacific Rim trip, and excursions to Russia, China, and Japan.

She took a keen interest in the women's movement, and in 1977 was a delegate from the Commonwealth of Virginia to the Women's International Year conference in Houston. She played sports throughout her life and loved to encourage women to take part in athletics. She was a devoted, though not uncritical, fan of the University of Virginia Women's Basketball team. She was a lifelong member of P.E.O., a women's service organization, and she particularly enjoyed her time with the Senior Center water aerobics program. After an injury from a fall in 2006 she moved to RoseWood Village in Charlottesville.

She was preceded in death by her first husband, Arthur Lewis Edson, in 1969; her second husband, David H. Gould in 2000; and her eldest daughter, Margery Ann Edson in 1952.

She is survived by two brothers, Harry and his wife, Jane, and Jim Huff; and by two sisters, Eleanor Liscum and Helen and her husband, Allan Ebell. She also leaves three daughters, Evelyn Edson and her husband, Andy Wilson, of Scottsville, Victoria Pilcher and her husband, Travis, of Carlton, Oregon, and Virginia Masterson of Charlottesville. Additional surviving family members include her nephew, Allan Ebell of Scottsville; eight grandchildren, Meredith Cole, Benjamin Edson, Travis and Edward Pilcher, and Margery and Ursula Masterson, Judith Uriarte, and Steve Wilson; and nine great-grandchildren, Arial, Alex, Abigail, Catherine and Griffin Pilcher, Sebastian Krebs, and Andy, Adriana, Angelina and Robert Uriarte; three stepchildren, Tim Gould and his wife, Kit, Jeff Gould and his wife, Elly, and Kathy Gould and her husband, Douglas Coffin; seven step-grandchildren, Gabriela, Monica, Carlos, Daniel and Claire Gould, and Hallie and Eric Coffin-Gould; and one step great-grandson, Nicco Cuevas. She leaves many friends, including Tom and Ruth Klippstein of Springtree Community, Renate and Bill Hinckley of Charlottesville, and Rodney and Terri Banks and their children, Tyler and Roddrick, of Scottsville.

A memorial service is planned for a later date.

If you wish to contribute to a charitable organization in Margery's honor, she suggested that you give to the Charlottesville and University Symphony Orchestra, P.O. Box 4206, Charlottesville, VA 22905 (cvillesymphony.org) or to the PEO Sisterhood Scholarship at PVCC. Make checks out to PEO, Chapter AQ, and send them to Mrs. Lottie H. Kemp, 92 Bishop's Ridge Road, Charlottesville, VA 22911.

The family would like to thank the staff at RoseWood Village, at University of Virginia Medical Center, and at the Laurels for their kind and gentle care of Margery.


This obituary was originally published in the Daily Progress.