Obituaries
Edith Gressley Calhoun
March 06, 2013
Edith Gressley Calhoun died peacefully March 6th at age 93. She was born in Huntington, IN on July 25, 1919, to Minor McKinley Gressley, a Congregationalist minister, and Lela Gressley. After winning several all-state piano competitions in Iowa and Montana, she matriculated at Northwestern University on a music scholarship. She ultimately earned a B.S. in Biology. At Northwestern, she met her future husband John B. Calhoun, a noted researcher at the National Institutes of Mental Health. Edith worked for over 20 years at the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda Maryland as a Medical Subject Headings Analyst, specializing in psychiatric, behavioral, and social science terms, and maintained a lifelong interest in medicine. She enjoyed reading both the New England Journal of Medicine and the Wall Street Journal, playing the piano, and traveling in Europe, Australia, China, Africa, and the US. Edith retired from NLM in 1989 in order to spend time with her grandchildren. She was a founding member (in 1961) and longtime supporter of the Bethesda United Church of Christ. Edith will be remembered for her generous support of family, friends, and many organizations, her lively intelligence and sense of humor, and her determination. She is survived by her brother Gene M. Gressley and his wife Mae Wygant of Jacksonville OR, her daughters Catherine C. Calhoun of Lancaster PA and Cheshire Calhoun of Phoenix AZ, and grandchildren Danielle Lenore Calhoun of Hawthorne NY and Paul Calhoun of Bloomington IN.
Services will be private. To place a condolence online, please visit SnyderFuneralHome.com. Charles F. Snyder, Jr. Funeral Home & Crematory 717-560-5100
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Please accept my sincere condolences on the passing of Edith. We worked together for many years at the national library of medicine, enjoyed many goods times together over the years, including celebrating July birthdays. She will be missed.
From GraceMccarn smoley
