Lucy Lee Palmer Edmison passed away peacefully at home in Strasburg VA on March 26th, 2024 at the age of 83, much to her own frustration. She had decided years ago that she would live until 92 and commented that her recent diagnosis was inconvenient since she still had much traveling she wanted to do. She was born on January 24th, 1941 in Portsmouth VA, and lived in Virginia for most of her life. She worked as a computer programmer for the Veterans Administration where she met her beloved husband, Kenneth R. Edmison, who startled her on their first date by claiming they were going to get married. Turned out he was right. Ken preceded her in death in 2004. She retired from the VA to be a stay-at-home mom, raising her son, Bob, then going back to work for Loudoun County Public Schools when he started costing them a lot of money by going to college.
A skilled embroider and stitcher, she was very active in several local chapters of the Embroiders Guild of America (EGA) and the American Needlepoint Guild (ANG) in the Northern Virginia area, serving in variety of roles including founding member, chapter president, but most often as the newsletter editor. She filled her time designing and teaching a variety of stitching techniques, as well as participating in community stitching projects, including the Shenandoah Valley Tapestry project, of which she was particularly proud. She also spent a lot of time playing World of Warcraft, which made her a very cool O'ma indeed.
She was also very proud of her family. She is survived by her son, Kenneth R. (Bob) Edmison Jr and her daughter-in-law Sondra, her grandson and World of Warcraft partner Kenneth R. (Robbie) Edmison III. Also, she is survived by her sisters Catherine (Katy) Tessieri (Michael), and Nancy Clausen (Chris), as well as her niece Anne Brill and her nephew Fitzhugh Elliott (Ornuma). She was predeceased by her husband Ken, and her parents, CAPT Fitzhugh L. Palmer Jr (USN Ret), and Elizabeth V. Palmer, as well as her sister Susan Palmer Dunham.
A celebration of Lucy's life will be held later this summer. Stay tuned to the usual channels for an announcement. She will be inurned with Ken at Arlington National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the EGA, the ANG, or to Blue Ridge Hospice, which was such a help to Lucy in her final weeks.
To all of her guildmates in the EGA and ANG, whom she loved spending her time with, she extends her apologies that her newsletter may be a bit late.
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