In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Wade Edwards Foundation which benefits the Wade Edwards Learning Lab at www.wade.org.
Before her death, Edwards posted the following message to friends on her Facebook page:
You all know that I have been sustained throughout my life by three saving graces – my family, my friends, and a faith in the power of resilience and hope. These graces have carried me through difficult times and they have brought more joy to the good times than I ever could have imagined. The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered. We know that. And, yes, there are certainly times when we aren’t able to muster as much strength and patience as we would like. It’s called being human. But I have found that in the simple act of living with hope, and in the daily effort to have a positive impact in the world, the days I do have are made all the more meaningful and precious. And for that I am grateful. It isn’t possible to put into words the love and gratitude I feel to everyone who has and continues to support and inspire me every day. To you I simply say: you know.
And while Elizabeth Edwards remained optimistic, she also “prepared for the worst.”
She wrote letters to her three children, giving them advice on things like “how to pick the person they’ll marry” and how to “pick a church.”
As she told People magazine, “it’s got all that butting my nose into their lives long after I’m gone stuff.”
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=7827069