Edith May Bunch, 95 years old, of Wilsonville, Oregon died peacefully on December 27 of age related issues. She was the mother of Jeanne Bunch of Portland and Tom Bunch of West Linn, mother in law of Sydney Bunch of West Linn, and grandmother of Marci Lewin, Wendy Bunch-Benson and Annelise Bunch all of Portland, Andrew Bunch of Sherwood and Tommy Bunch of Bend. Edith also had nine great grandchildren all of the Portland area.

At Edith’s request there will be a Celebration of Life for family and friends on February 18 at one of her favorite haunts with details to follow. Edith Bunch
1920-2015
Edith Bunch: An Active and Caring Life
Edith was born February 18, 1920 in Eddyville, Oregon, which is approximately 20 miles inland from Newport on the Yaquina River. Edith was born on her parent’s farm where they raised sheep and goats. She was followed by her younger sister, Anna, four years later.
Her father was Lloyd Peterson, a first generation Swede. Born in 1890, Duluth, MN, Lloyd and family relocated to Oregon ten years later. He suffered meningitis as a baby and lost his hearing. Lloyd’s special talents were farming and business.
Edith’s mother, Agnes Todhunter Peterson, born in Canyon City, Oregon in 1888, also lost her hearing due to scarlet fever at age three. Agnes was an excellent student and became a typesetter for a newspaper in Canyon City, a role typically filled by men.
Her parents met at a school for the deaf, and romance and marriage followed. Their seeming disadvantage prompted both to be more diligent than most to succeed. Edith and Anna learned sign language early and could carry on complete adult level signing conversations by age three.
The Peterson family moved to Portland where Lloyd did remodeling, new home construction, and farming on their 87 acre farm in Beavercreek. In 1932, during the height of the Great Depression, the family took a huge risk and traded their Beavercreek farm for another farm in Hermiston. Edith’s father became one of the first to commercialize Hermiston watermelons. Edith would assist him on sales trips as an interpreter while they sold, bartered or traded melons. Edith and Anna learned to milk cows, clean the barn, feed pigs, shock hay, plant/ harvest melons and potatoes, plus many other tasks.
Her mother developed severe blood poisoning in 1936 after cutting herself on fencing. This destroyed her intellectual functions and she was institutionalized until her death.
Edith loved school from day one and excelled. She began at George School in Portland and moved to Schubel School in Beavercreek in 1929. Three years later, she transferred to Hermiston schools. Edith did extremely well, skipped a few grades and graduated from Hermiston High School with honors in 1937. She was the class valedictorian, a rare honor in those days for a girl. She worked during high school in addition to helping on the family farm and did not have time for many after school activities. She was thrilled to be elected to the senior prom court. Another activity she loved was reading and going to the library. The librarian would joke with her that she had read all the books and needed to wait until new ones arrived. One of her jobs was at the Hermiston Hotel restaurant where the chef took special interest in helping her to learn to cook. Over the years she became a true gourmet cook.
After graduating from high school Edith began dating a handsome young man named John Pettitt, originally from Montana. They fell in love and were married in December, 1937. A year later, in 1938, Jeanne was born followed by Thomas (Tommy) in 1941, both in Hermiston. The marriage was short lived and they later divorced.
In 1942 Edith’s father married Elva Snyder Webb, a hearing impaired woman he met at deaf school many years earlier. Elva had two children from a prior marriage, Don and Betty, who became stepsiblings to Edith and Anna. The four bonded firmly over the years. Betty Holmes and Don Webb reside in Pendleton where they have been active in civic affairs and the Pendleton Grain Growers.
Edith moved to Portland in 1944 and began life as a single working mother. She first worked at Montgomery Ward as a telephone sales rep. After gaining full time status, she rented a large house on NW 22nd Avenue at the present site of Good Samaritan Hospital, took in several boarders and did their laundry for extra income. This was in addition to keeping house, being a full time employee and mother.
After learning numerous administrative skills, Edith worked with various doctors and medical clinics. She was employed by Valley Medical Center Hospital for more than 10 years where she became office manager and was involved in setting up the first computer system and introduction of Medicare. Her longest term of employment was for an OB/GYN group in Portland, Fearl, Breese, Dahlman and Fearl. Edith worked full time into her 70’s.
Edith was also active with the Lutheran Church and social outreach programs
For many years both at First Immanuel Lutheran Church and later at St. Luke Lutheran Church in Portland, she was heavily involved with teaching and leading Sunday school programs. Edith insisted that both Jeanne and Tommy participate in catechism classes each Saturday for two years to learn about Christianity, develop strong personal values, and to live the Ten Commandments.
Edith taught her children teamwork, self-sufficiency and accomplishment. She was Lead for the Camp Fire Girls in which Jeanne participated, and Cub Master for Tom’s Cub Scouts. A special treat for Tom was his mother hauling 200 heavy Sunday newspapers in the family car for delivery beginning at 4:30 AM followed by Swedish pancakes and bacon.

Edith began reaching out to the Hispanic community in the 1960’s, giving and soliciting
donations for poor migrant farm families in and around Woodburn. She remained connected with some Latino children from childhood through college.
Later she was a volunteer with the Senior Center in Multnomah for many years. In 1997, Neighborhood House recognized Edith as Volunteer of the Year.
Edith and Curley Bunch marry in 1948
After several years of hard work and being single, Edith connected with a prior acquaintance from Hermiston, Harold «Curley» Bunch who, like her, had relocated to Portland. He was four years older and a slow but steady romance began. They were married in 1948 and shortly thereafter bought their first, and only, home in the Vermont Hills area of SW Portland. Edith remained there for 60 years. Curley and Edith planted every shrub, tree and blade of grass, and installed a grape arbor and playhouse for the grandchildren that followed. Because Curley was a long haul trucker, he was frequently gone for a week or more at a time. This left most painting, yard maintenance and more to Edith. She hand raked leaves from many large maple trees and handled all other landscaping until she was 88 years old.
Edith and Curley were happily married for 33 years until he died in 1981. During this time they became ever closer and particularly enjoyed visiting family and friends in Eastern Oregon. They also did considerable travel during vacations throughout the US and overseas including London, Paris and Scotland. Two of their closest friends were neighbors Bob and Helen Boyd. Bob was a clinical psychologist and shared Curley’s love of pinochle. Curley developed strong relationships with Jeanne and Tommy, adopting them and becoming their real dad.
After Curley’s death, Edith delighted in connecting with Jeanne, Tom, daughter in law Sydney and her grandchildren. She and Jeanne enjoyed frequent visits to Carmel, California and the occasional chance exchanges with Clint Eastwood at his Hog’s Breath Tavern. Perhaps her most treasured time was having fun with her five grandchildren, Marci, Wendy, Andy, Tommy and Annelise, whether it be making tea or doing artwork together in the playhouse, and/or taking them to the zoo or an ice cream parlor. Another favorite spot was having hot dogs at the former Carnival Restaurant near Duniway Park in SW Portland.
She also traveled with family and friends to Hawaii, Japan, Hong Kong, Argentina, Brazil and numerous countries in Western/Eastern Europe, and constructed detailed scrapbooks filled with photos and narrative about each excursion.

In 2008 Edith moved to an independent living facility, Calaroga Terrace
A real challenge was selecting which of her hundreds of books would accompany her. She developed new friends and was active with her computer. During her first years there, she volunteered help to younger seniors. She regularly read to those who had lost their reading ability. In 2011, she suffered the first of a series of small TIA strokes and her physical downward spiral began. Edith moved to The Springs in Wilsonville in 2014 and lived there until her passing of age related issues on December 27, 2015.
Edith Bunch: Our Rich Gift
For those of us who have been personally been touched by Edith, we all have similar positive opinions about her character and values. Universally she is described as bright, generous, caring and incredibly active. A true lover of the arts, and at the same time, comfortable with farms and gardens: Yes, our Rich Gift from God.
Edith’s Celebration of Life
Friends and family of Edith are warmly invited to attend her Celebration of Life on February 18, 2016 at O’Connor’s in Multnomah. Edith was a regular here for years and it will be a fitting place to remember her. This celebration will commence @ 5pm and include a sampling of Swedish foods. O’Connors is located at 7850 SW Capitol Highway, Portland, Oregon 97219, (503) 244-1690. Please contact Tom with any questions or comments: tbunch@sprintmail.com. Look forward to seeing you soon.