Ceola Edmon

Ceola Edmon was born in Elaine, Arkansas to Benjamin Harris and Ruth Loyd. She was the eldest of four children in a rural family. Growing up during the Great Depression and facing racial segregation, Ceola learned the value of hard work and grit from an early age. Despite facing many challenges and injustices, she remained determined to create a better life for herself and her family. She left Arkansas and moved to Joliet where she met and married, Vird L. Edmon, Sr.

After marriage, she dedicated her life to taking off care of her family, ensuring her children were successful in any of their recreational activities and educational pursuits. Throughout her life, she touched the lives of countless individuals. Her boldness and brutal honesty earned her the respect from colleagues, friends, and neighbors. Ceola was also an active Usher Board leader at Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church, volunteering her time and resources to support the members. She was a doting mother, raising her children with a sense of high standards and a belief that children should treat their elders with respect.

Preceded in death by her husband, Vird L.; her daughter, Magnolia; her brothers, Arthur and Lonnie; her sister, Louise; her parents, two grandchildren, and a nephew, Ceola knew heartbreak, but she faced it from a position of acceptance that suffering is part of the human experience. Ceola enforced one of her core values, standing up for what is right and never backing down from a fight. She was a source of inspiration and strength to those around her, sharing her wisdom and experiences with everyone who crossed her path.

She spent her last years demonstrating this same strength and resilience and left this earth a shining model of what it means to live life on your own terms. She leaves to mourn her loss: her sons, Jeffery Alan (Carolyn), Vird L. Jr. (Nancy) and Russell (Dawn); and a host of grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

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