Edith Davis Daharsh

Edith Daharsh Obituary

Edith Davis Daharsh left us on April 12, 2024, five days after our 34th wedding anniversary, she was 81. Edie was a hospice nurse for many years, she practised in Virginia and Maryland. Edie and Mike met at the Smithsonian Castle on a natural history hike led by geologist Jim O'Connor. A memorial service will be held in Northbrook, Illinois June 1, 2024. Donations in her memory may be made to Nature Forward.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by The Washington Post from Apr. 28 to May 4, 2024.

Memories and Condolences
for Edith Daharsh

9 Entries

Michael D Daharsh

February 16, 2025

Card from Rick and Wamucii Morgan. Wamucii and I were so sorry to hear the news about Edie from last weekend. I know that it has been a difficult few years, and we hope you are doing as well as possible at this time. I struggle to understand just how difficult this passing is for you to grasp and to live with. We can all guess, but you are the only one who really knows. We always enjoyed Edie, her smile and especially the independent streak that led her on so many life adventures. I am sure there are so many wonderful memories to reflect on. Not sure if you know, but I have been living in Florida the last few years. There are so many interesting and beautiful birds here, it makes me think of Edie (and you). It's a new appreciation for me of something you guys saw years ago. Again, our condolences on Edie's passing, we will say a prayer for you both.

Michael D Daharsh

February 14, 2025

In a card from Ann Lyssenko, "I always had deep respect for Edie. For her adventuresome jobs in Kenya and Saigon. Her love of Asian food. As I write this, I can hear her laugh...feel her love of life. I hope you and the birds are still in relationship. Another memory of you and Edie. So sorry for your loss...

Michael Daharsh

July 31, 2024

Thank you for sending a sympathy card on behalf of Nature Forward. I met Edie on an Audubon Naturalist Society/Nature Forward natural history walk led by the Geologist of the District of Columbia Jim O´Conner called "Geology on the Mall." Later on that year Edie and I coincidentally signed up for a series of walks along the Rock Creek Park watershed with ANS/NF. Edie had to miss one of the walks so I agreed to retrace the walk with her and go over the topics discussed by the group leader, after the walk we ended up at the Tidal Basin where the cherry blossoms were spectacularly blooming. Edie and I considered that walk as our first date which eventually led to our marriage April 7, 1990.
Edie and I did many saunters, long weekends, and distant travel with ANS/NF over the years: Costa Rica with Mark Garland and Carlos Gomez, February 6-20, 1999. This was my first tropical experience, not so with Edie, she was assigned to the embassy in Saigon as a secretary for the Central Intelligence Agency 1965-67, there the climate is monsoonal tropical. In 1971-2 Edie was assigned by the CIA to the Nairobi embassy, she visited Mombasa which is definitely a tropical climate. Arenal Volcano; our group could hear the volcanic rumble when we got close, one night while eating dinner we could see red-hot lava and glowing boulders tumbling down the slopes. During the crepuscular hour the howler monkeys let everyone know that they were around. Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve; one morning we pulled into the parking lot for a walk, a Resplendent Quetzal was present, as far as I know the bird hung around all day because he was still there when we got back from our walk. Later on our group also got up close with blue morphs as well as other species of butterfly at the Butterfly Garden. Rancho Naturalista; one of the morning walks turned out to be a deluge, fortunately Edie and two older gentlemen with backaches remained at the lodge where the birding was great because of numerous hummingbird feeders plus copious amounts of bananas in strategic places for toucans and other birds in the yard. Nurse Edie successfully treated the two gentlemen´s backaches with some over-the-counter medication she brought along; Edie´s career change occurred in 1978. On Valentine´s Day three of us from the bird group went with our host and hostess into a nearby community to celebrate. The town hall was filled with residents playing bingo, then our party moseyed to the dance hall; our hostess told us that all the men know how to dance and of course the ladies. One of the local gents asked Edie to dance and she agreed, I am not a particularly good dancer. Northern Australia with Don Messersmith and Kirrama Wildlife Tours, September 25-October 18, 2003. Hurricane Isabel came ashore September 18, 2003, knocking out power for three days; those DC-Metro residents who left earlier for Australia came back to rotten food in their freezers and refrigerators. Some of the fauna included Laughing Kookaburra, Lovely Fairy-wren, Brush Turkey, Great Bowerbird, Black Butcherbird, Mistletoebird, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Rainbow Lorikeet, Cockatiel, Duck-billed Platypus, Lumholtz´s Tree Kangaroo, Agile Wallaby, Common Wallaroo, Magnetic Termite Mounds, Estuarine Crocodile. Edie and I snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef off the coast from Cairns, the reef is in big trouble now because of climate change. Most of Kakadu NP is owned by aboriginal persons who have occupied the area 60,000 years, while there we explored their ancestral rock art. On one of the extensions some of our group viewed a large sandstone monolith called Uluru (Ayers Rock), many of the tourists toasted the glorious sunset with champagne. Nebraska with Hal Wierenga and Lynn Davidson, March 20-28, 2004. Half a million Sandhill cranes gather along Nebraska´s Platte River (an inch deep and a mile wide) each March. Near Grand Island the group gathered in a blind near sunset to witness the birds returning from the corn fields to roost along the river. Their loud, rattling bugle calls were deafening, and many were doing their elegant dance. We stayed a couple of nights in Broken Bow, my hometown, we have some dancers also, prairie chicken and sharp-tailed grouse, however, only the males do the dancing. Hal showed his prowess in dancing, I could see hearts in Lynn´s eyes. Brazil with Don Messersmith and International Expeditions, October 8-21, 2005. The Pantanal is the largest freshwater marsh on earth consisting of 75,000-80,000 square miles of tropical prairie, forest, and lagoons, fauna included the endangered species Hyacinth Macaw and Giant Otter. Iguazu Falls is a World Heritage Site and one of largest waterfalls on Earth with over 275 cascades; there were numerous walking trails to explore, many of us also got a bird´s eye view of the falls from helicopters. North of Rio, Poco Antas Biological Reserve is a stronghold for the Golden Lion Tamarin brought back from the verge of extinction. Colorado with Stephanie Mason and Mark England June 23- July 1, 2007. Rocky Mountain National Park, rugged peaks, spectacular vistas, interesting plants such as Colorado Columbine and Locoweed, butterflies such as Parnassian and Common Ringlet, mammals such as Bighorn Sheep and Yellow-bellied Marmot. Tanzania with Mark Garland and Classic Escapes, ~ March 3-21, 2008. As soon as Kenya was offered as a destination by ANS/NF, we signed up; Edie loved Kenya when she was there as a secretary with the CIA, however, political unrest threatened a cancellation. Fortunately, ANS/NF was able to arrange a switch to next door Tanzania with snow-capped Mt. Kilimanjaro at 19,341´, Great Rift Valley, Olduvai Gorge (hangout of the Leakeys), Ngorongoro Crater populated with hundreds of Lesser Flamingos and a haven for the critically endangered Black Rhino. Serengeti with its amazing migrations of Wildebeests (white-bearded gnus) and Burchell´s Zebra. This migration does not occur in March, however, the fauna, etc. were great!! Those of us in our group who chose to do the extension proceeded to coastal Saadani National Park and Zanzibar Island, both with stifling dewpoints; Zanzibar was selected by the Sultan of Oman as the headquarters of his empire in 1840. It was not until 1873 the world´s last open slave market closed. The last vestige of this horrific institution was in Stone Town; our group visited Slave Market Memorial and the nearby Anglican Church. David Livingstone, by the way, was a hero in Africa because he helped end slavery. West Texas with Mark Garland and John Bjerke April 12-23, 2011. Endangered species seen were Black-capped Vireo and Golden-cheeked Warbler, at Concan thousands of Mexican Free-tailed Bats fly out of the cave at the crepuscular hour. On this trip Edie struggled with the walking distances and getting in and out of the van, therefore we stopped traveling with ANS/NF; she was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy in 2003 so her mobility suffered over time.
Edie participated in the Conservation Philosophy/ Nature Writing Book Club led by Kent and Marcia Minichiello for many years, she also did some data entry for the Water Monitoring Project.

I also received a card from Nature Forward Naturalist Stephanie Mason:
Mike- seeing a tufted titmouse always makes me smile, seeing Edie made me
smile too. She always seemed to be wearing a grin- and good cheer and friendliness are happily contagious. I know you'll miss her greatly. (Who knew
that Jim O'Connor could be a matchmaker?)

Sharon Porter

May 18, 2024

I knew Edie in our life at Riderwood Village. She had a calmness about her, as I got to know her I realized that in dealing with her own physical issues she had developed a special caring for others as a hospice nurse, what a gift! She reached out to our card making group--making cards for our community members in Long Term Care. It was my pleasure to know her.

Michael Daharsh

May 14, 2024

Edie departed the suburbs of Chicago in the early sixties to seek employment in Washington D.C. where she found a job with the Central Intelligence Agency as a secretary. Sometime in April, 1965, Edie was assigned to the embassy in Saigon, because of a steep descent by the airplane when approaching the runway she came to realize that she indeed was in a war zone. Edie lived in a house with other women plus there was maid service and guards; a bomb exploded near the gate at some point in time, another reminder that she was in a war zone. Edie’s brother Eddie was a Navy officer on the Brister, a radar picket destroyer escort and met her once when he got ashore. Eddie would board junks and look for evidence of Viet Cong, he carried a gun which made him nervous. Their mother Jean was ill at ease to have both kids in South Vietnam; their father Ed Sr. was a Navy seaman during WWII. His home was aboard a LST (landing ship, tank) which ferried refugees down the Yangtze River. Initially Ed Sr was exempt from the draft because he was married with children, however, that changed with the battle of the Bulge. During her stay, Edie attended a Montagnard ritual ceremony to get rid of bad spirits, she drank some of the ceremonial rice wine and a water buffalo was sacrificed by the Chief. Edie also spoke of a pubby place she went to, they played "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" over and over again. After her assignment in South Vietnam was over she toured Thailand, Hong Kong and Japan before returning to Washington D.C.
Edie chose Nairobi over Paris for another assignment overseas and she was glad she did, she loved the wildlife and exploring the countryside. Edie’s parents came for a visit in 1971, they had a great time, viewing the wildlife and fishing at Lake Rudolf. Her parents and Amanda Blake (Miss Kitty on Gunsmoke) then headed to Uganda to sightsee, however, they were detained at the border. On January 25, 1971 the military led by General Idi Amin executed a coup against the government of President Milton Obote. Anyway, one of the guards humiliated Ed Sr. by smearing lipstick on his face, he did not struggle but smiled, good thing because bad things could have happened. Fortunately the guards allowed the group to return to Kenya relatively unscathed.
The only time Edie was involved in covert activity was planting a listening device in a boat Russians frequently used in Kenya, the operation did not produce any results because the engine noise downed out any communication; I wonder what James Bond would have done? Edie toured other nations in Africa: Ghana, Morocco, Tanzania, and Uganda. Her assignment in Nairobi ended in 1972, before she returned to the United States she vacationed in Germany, Greece, Italy, England, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland.
Edie decided to make a career change around 1976, she attended Montgomery College, Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus, her specialty Nursing; Edie was pinned in 1978.

Pat Wilson

April 30, 2024

Approximately 53 years ago I worked with Edie for the Central Intelligence Agency in DC. We remained close friends for years after that. I was surprised when she quit the Agency to pursue a career in nursing. She told me she felt contributing to society was the most important thing we would do in our lives. I can't think of anything more important than working as a Hospice nurse. We have lost a shining star.

Jean Rissman

April 28, 2024

Aunt Edie inspired my interest in nursing back when I was a teen. And here I am again, at the end of my nursing career, following in her footsteps and working in hospice. I always enjoyed our conversations. Even when I was young, she did not talk down to me. She will be missed!

The Marlin Daharsh Family

April 28, 2024

To those closest to Edie, she will be missed, her sweet personality and her love she shared to so many will always be in our memories and hearts. She was a beautiful sister-in-law and so much fun to be around. Our thoughts and prayers will always be there for Mike and the rest of her close family.
She will live on in our thoughts and through our memories.

Linda

April 28, 2024

Edie and I shared a night in Hawaii near Hickman Air Force Base a long time ago. We put my kids to bed and spent the night talking on the patio of my room. She was headed to Vietnam to serve at the Embassy. I was headed home after being in military housing for a year. She was an interesting and intelligent woman and she lived a full life. From Vietnam to Kenya and on to birding trips and deciding to be a Hospice nurse. She was a great cook and a great sister-in-law. I´ll miss her.

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