Viola Eden

Viola Meyer Eden was born September 24, 1932, to Pete and Emma (Alberts) Meyer, the first of five children, near Davis, SD. Having attended Middleton Township District #23, a one-room school, for the first eight years, she graduated from Hurley High School in 1950. Viola attended Northwestern Jr. College in Orange City, IA, earning a teaching certificate for rural schools in SD. After teaching for three years, she attended Black Hills Teachers College in Spearfish, SD, before transferring to Seattle Pacific (College then) University from which she graduated in 1956 with a BA in Education. She taught in Glenora, Spangle, Lind, Rockford, and Freeman, WA schools from 1956-1982. Viola married Loren Eden, June 6, 1959, at Menno Mennonite Church where she was baptized as an adult and became a member. Viola followed Loren as he farmed in the Lind area and then settled near Valleyford, where she assisted him with numerous farming procedures during vacations from teaching. They enjoyed learning to know school staff families wherever Viola taught, and supported missionaries financially and with letters. After retiring from teaching, Viola was active in Pacific Northwest Association of Church Librarians working at Valley Fourth Memorial Church Library and Resource Room. Becoming a widow in 1996, after 37 years with Loren, she was instrumental in starting a ministry to widows, The Widows Might, which offers a time of fellowship and an encouraging educational feature helpful to widows. The loneliness of widowhood led Viola to enjoy a short marriage to Bob Kidder, a widower and former school custodian, Dec. 17, 2002-June 13, 2003, when a heart attack caused his death. In 2007, Viola and Joe Goodman, a widower and retired missionary, were married to share seven years of companionship during which time she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. Joe passed away May 7, 2014. For nine years until her death, Viola was well-cared for at Guardian Angel Homes in Liberty Lake, WA. Viola enjoyed sewing, crafts, gardening, scrap booking, snowmobiling, softball, reading, traveling, and riddles! Most recently, she entertained young and old alike by asking riddles from her own spiral bound riddle book! Viola was preceded in death by her parents, sister Joan Meyer, brother Peter Meyer, Jr., and each of her husbands. She is survived by brothers Robert (Florene) Meyer, Stanley (Sharon) Meyer; nieces Pam (Terry) Plimpton, Dawn (Dale) Froese, Faith (Steve) Penner; nephew Reed Meyer; two great nieces, two great nephews, a great-great niece and a great-great nephew. A private burial took place at Menno Mennonite Cemetery, June 9. A service celebrating Viola’s life will be held at Menno Mennonite Church, 1378 N. Damon Rd., Ritzville WA, on July 1, 2023, at 3 p.m. Service will be available livestream at: mennomennonite.org/eden. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Widows Might, Inc., PO Box 14051, Spokane Valley, WA 99214; or Union Gospel Mission, 1224 E. Trent Ave., Spokane, WA 99220.

Viola Eden

September 24, 1932 - May 29, 2023