Edna May Thirion

Edna May Thirion nee Davis, 94, of North Little Rock, died peacefully Monday, July 8, 2019, with family at her side. Edna was born in Los Angeles, California, to Edgar and May Davis. She was married to Emile "Booster" Thirion for 64 years. She was preceded in death by her parents and husband, her brothers Roy and Leo Davis and sister Phyllis Kettner and great-granddaughter Braylee Michelle. Edna is survived by her ten children: Linda Gatewood, Mary Johnson, Jean Hughes, Doris McAllister (Robby), Michael Thirion (Michawn), Mark Thirion (Liz), Emily Thirion-Lacy, Theresa Johnson (Craig), Leah Williams (Larry), and Jane Nolan (Brian). She has 25 grandchildren, 23 great-grandchildren, and five great-great-grandchildren. Edna attended Los Angeles City College and later nursing school in San Diego. At an American Legion Dance with her family, she met a young U.S. Marine, married and moved to North Little Rock. In addition to being a wife, she was a homemaker and Mother. She loved caring for her children and grandchildren. Edna loved to read and in grained this desire to read in her children. While making dinner she encouraged her children to read out loud at the kitchen table. She was active in their education; assisting with spelling words, science fair projects and shuttling her children to sports activities, dance and music lessons, scouts and a variety of other activities. It was important to her for her children to be well rounded. Edna enjoyed swimming and passed that love on to her children. The family spent many summer days at the lake swimming and fishing. She had a passion for sewing, knitting and crochet. She found comfort in being outdoors and you could find her sitting in the backyard swing her husband built for her. She enjoyed time gardening and passed those skills on as a legacy, watching her children and grandchildren build beautiful vegetable gardens and landscapes. She loved watching and listening to the song birds; robins and cardinals were her favorite. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Easter Seals of Arkansas. Visitation will be Saturday, July 13, at 9 am with Memorial Services at 10 a.m., followed by burial at Griffin Leggett Rest Hills, 7724 Landers Road, North Little Rock. To share a memory of Edna with the family visit www.griffinleggettresthills.com.