June 05, 2012|By Frederick N. Rasmussen, The Baltimore Sun
"She was a pioneer and did so much for the city schools," said Genevieve M. Knight, who was a longtime friend and colleague. "And when she came to straighten out a school, by the time she left, it was."
"She was a wonderful teacher but didn't take any slack off of students. If a paper was due on a certain date, that was the day it was due. And if it wasn't right, she'd give it back and make them do it over," said Dr. Knight, who was math department chair at Coppin when she retired in 2006. "She was definitely from the old school."
After retiring as principal at Northern High School in 1988, Dr. Edmonds remained in education, beginning a second career as an adjunct professor at Coppin, where she taught honors and remedial English and business management communications.
"She continued teaching right up to the end. She was vital and never missed a beat," said Dr. Judith D. Willner, an assistant professor in the visual and performing arts department at Coppin.
"She was the best of the best, and everyone here honored and continues to honor her," she said. "She left more with us than we can ever hope to repay."
Her husband of 53 years, Norman Alvin Edmonds, a General Motors Corp. autoworker and professional musician, died in 2006.
A memorial service will be held at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Delta Community Center, 2501 Springhill Ave.
She is survived by her son, W. Bernard Edmonds of Baltimore; and special friend Joe Ann Oatis of Owings Mills.
fred.rasmussen@baltsun.com
