Etta Edwards Johnson

Etta Edwards Johnson HAGERSTOWN, Md. - Etta Melton "Lady" Edwards-Johnson, 92, formerly of Smith Avenue, Portsmouth, passed away Feb. 3, 2009, in a hospital in Hagerstown. Born June 8, 1916, in Rocky Mount, N.C., she was the daughter of the late Walter and Etta Melton. Etta had been a member of Simonsdale Presbyterian Church in Portsmouth since 1944. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her first husband, R.L. Edwards; her second husband, Walter Johnson; five brothers, Jack, Bill, Ed, Dudley and Jay Bird Melton; and three sisters, Millie Ruth Holland, Betty Askea and Anna Springle. She is survived by a daughter, Carolyn A. Bryant of Hagerstown; a son, James R.L. Edwards of Moreno Valley, Calif.; five grandchildren, Claude J. Bryant, James Edwards, Deborah Edwards, Kimberly Ciucci and Katherine Robinson; and eight great-grandchildren, Jason Cathell, Kyle Bryant, Nicholas Cathell, Conor Bryant, Chad Leather, Madison Edwards, Zachary Ciucci and Aubrey Ciucci. A funeral will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday in Sturtevant Funeral Home, Portsmouth Blvd. Chapel, by the Rev. Martha Shute-Goodman. Burial will follow in Greenlawn Memorial Gardens. The family will receive friends in the funeral home one hour prior to the service. A memorial and celebration of her life service will also be held in Hagerstown at a later date. www.SturtevantFuneralHome.com.