Shirley W. Edidin

Shirley Wenesky Edidin was born in Canton, Massachusetts, May 11, 1924. She and her husband, Ted moved to Jacksonville in the mid 1950s and led a full and happy life together until Ted’s passing in 1988. Shirley has continued to reside in Jacksonville ever since. Her long and accomplished life ended all too soon December 15, 2009.

With degrees and a background in accounting and bookkeeping, Shirley spent most of her life in Jacksonville as a stay-at-home mom. After her two children had grown, she pursued her love of art and consequently became a nationally-recognized craftsman and weaver.

Shirley and Ted were both great supporters of the arts in Jacksonville. In 1979, Shirley’s own artwork was set apart with an award at the Jacksonville Art Museum member show and the following year she was recognized with her own one-woman show at the museum. Since that time, her rugs, napkins, placemats, and wearables have garnered many prestigious awards, are in numerous private collections and have been in scores of exhibitions and shows including the American Craft Council’s annual juried shows in Baltimore, Atlanta, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Tampa, Charlotte and Sarasota; the Washington Craft Show in Washington, DC; the Smithsonian Craft Fair in Washington DC; and the Philadelphia Museum of Art craft show.

Shirley’s weavings has been featured in a number of trade publications and she has served on the board of many craft associations across the Southeast including Crown Craftsmen, Florida Craftsmen, American Craft Council Southeast Regional Assembly and the Jacksonville Coalition for the Visual Arts.

In March of 2003, Shirley received a lifetime achievement award from Florida Craftsmen and a sample of her work will b a part of the Florida Craftsmen permanent collection.

A great horticulturalist, Shirley had a green thumb beyond compare. The yard and gardens of her Arlington home remain a testimony to her talents. Her plants and her green house were an all-consuming hobby. Among her friends and neighbors she was best known for her pineapple crop, which she grew simply by taking the tops off store-bought fruit and putting them in the ground. Remarkably, over the years she has grown and propagated dozens of pineapple plants and shared the fruits of her labors with friends and family.

She is survived by her sister, Selma Rubin of Bethesda, MD; her daughter and son-in-law, Heidi and Tom Billotto of Charlotte, NC and her son and daughter-in-law, Jaimie and Joyce Edidin and two grand daughters, Mariah and Kaela Edidin all of Seattle, WA.

A memorial service held in celebration of Shirley’s life will take place January 23 at 3 p.m. at The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, 829 Riverside Avenue, Jacksonville, Florida.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that tributes and donations be made in Shirley’s memory to The Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF), PO Box 838, Montpelier, Vermont 05601-0838. CERF is an organization designed to strengthen and sustain the careers of craft artists across the United States through direct financial and educational assistance including emergency relief assistance, business development support, and resources and referrals.