Rev. Edith Walker Woodling

Rev. Edith Walker Woodling of Atlanta, Georgia, died on Sunday, September 21, 2025, two months after being diagnosed with late-stage cancer.

Edith was born on November 30, 1950, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the daughter of Walter Foch Walker and Mattie Calhoun Walker. Her grandparents were James Edward Walker and Lula Bernard Walker, and William Walter Calhoun and Stella Lancaster Calhoun. She grew up with her parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins in a four-family "compound." Together, the Walkers, Harrisons, Sewells, and Cofers created a close-knit community where family and friendship were at the heart of everything. An avid reader and diligent student, she graduated from Tyner High School in 1969.

She went on to earn her B.A. in English Literature from Emory University, a Master in Literature from the University of Pittsburgh, where she lived at the time, and later her Master of Divinity from Emory University's Candler School of Theology in 2024.

Edith joined the faculty of Pace Academy in 1983 as an English teacher and assistant sponsor of the school's Service Learning program. By 1987 she was leading the program, and with her guidance, more than half the student body became involved. She expanded the program's partnerships across Atlanta and made service a defining part of Pace's culture. Under her leadership, Pace became the first independent school in the United States to require service hours for graduation. She also served as Dean of Women and later Dean of the Class of 1999, the year she left Pace.

In 1995, Edith was ordained a deacon in the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta by the Rt. Rev. Frank Kellogg Allan. Over the years, she served five parishes and held leadership roles in Episcopal schools, including serving as Head of Christ Church Episcopal School, the first ordained woman to lead an Episcopal school in the United States. She later served as Chaplain at St. Martin's Episcopal School, at St. Benedict's Episcopal Church, and as Interim Chaplain at Holy Innocents' Episcopal School. She was a life-long member and clergy member at St. Anne's Episcopal Church, a community she loved dearly. Her ordination as a priest in June of 2025 fulfilled a calling that had long shaped her life. After her ordination as a priest, she briefly served as the Priest in Charge at St. Anthony's Episcopal Church in Winder, Georgia.

Her ministry touched countless lives through education, pastoral care, outreach, and leadership. For more than 40 years, she worked with outreach ministries across the diocese, including the Atlanta Community Food Bank, Emmaus House, Trinity Transition House, Habitat for Humanity, Perry Homes Community, and Path to Shine. She was also a spiritual director and a yoga instructor.

Edith married Jack Albanese in 1971 and they had two sons, Brian and Michael. In 1983, she married Frank Woodling. Frank had a daughter, Catherine, and together they had a son, Frank. With four young children, their life together was joyfully loud and full of adventure until his untimely passing in 1996. Later she found love again with James (Jim) Dillon, whom she married in 2001. Edith and Jim merged their two wonderfully blended families and shared more than 20 years of marriage, opening their home for countless family gatherings, beach trips, and celebrations until Jim's death in 2022.

Edith's life was shaped by faith, family, and community. She was a mentor to many, a lifelong learner who enjoyed reading, and a gracious host who loved nothing more than precious time with her family. She cherished hosting family gatherings and trips to Edisto Island and Pawleys Island, South Carolina, and restorative trips to her cozy mountain home in Highlands, North Carolina. She also found great peace practicing yoga and attending spiritual retreats and icon writing workshops.

She is survived by her children and their families: Brian Albanese (Katy Daugharty), Michael Albanese, Frank Woodling (Lauren), and step-daughter Catherine Woodling (Evan Strange); Jim's children, Laura Schmidt (Carl), Jay Dillon (Katie), and Chan Dillon (Kelly); four young grandchildren, Maggie Strange, Eleanor Albanese, Smith Woodling, and Thomas Woodling; and eight older grandchildren, Charlie Dillon, Ruth Schmidt, Max Dillon, Pearce Dillon, Claire Schmidt, Mary Dillon, Anders Dillon, and Robert Strange. She is also survived by her siblings James Walker (Richard McHenry) and Susan Walker Naythons, niece Mattie Naythons, and many cousins and dear friends who loved her very much. She was preceded in death by her husbands, Frank Woodling and Jim Dillon.

Edith's rule of life came from Micah 6:8: "Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God," words she not only believed but lived out each day through her ministry, her teaching, and her love for others.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, October 11, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. at St. Anne's Episcopal Church in Atlanta, followed by a reception at the church. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Edith's memory the St. Anne's Episcopal Church Memorial Fund.

Woodling, Edith Walker