Edith Willman Showacre

EDITH "Edie" WILLMAN SHOWACRE, age 76, of 9 Perry Lane, Ithaca, died at Cayuga Medical Center on November 28, 2005, in the presence of loved ones. She was born in Ithaca on September 23, 1929, daughter of the late John P. and Anna Rogers Willman. She spent her teen summers at the Blossom Hill Farm of her aunt and uncle in Herndon, Virginia. During many of those summers, she went with her uncle to the Delmarva Peninsula to get a Chincoteague pony. Edie was fond of riding the ponies bareback. Later, she spent her college summers as a waterfront director at a Girl Scout camp. She was also a lifeguard at Beebe Lake and at Teagle Hall on the Cornell campus. Edie graduated from Ithaca High School in 1947. Very proud to be an Ithaca High Alumna, she thoroughly enjoyed working and reminiscing with her ‘47 reunion committee. She went on to earn a BA from Keuka College in 1951. She taught high school in Adams Center, Horseheads and Lansing prior to a 27 year career teaching English at Ithaca High School, where she was very highly admired and respected, retiring in 1984. Over a period of three decades, several thousand students came to know and appreciate her, first in her English classes, and later in her American Studies Program. Edie, as usual, was instrumental in helping students understand and appreciate the relevance of literary themes to real life. She was also a wonderful writing teacher and one of her greatest pleasures was to serve for a number of years as advisor to the IHS school paper, The Tattler. Edie enjoyed keeping in touch with many of her former students, and was often invited to their reunions.

Edie married James C. Showacre on April 27, 1957. They have one daughter, Joanne, who resides in Alton, IL. In addition to her husband and daughter, she is survived by her brother, James R. Willman (Donna) of St. Louis, MO; and her sister, Dorothy W. Bartlett (Philip) of Nantucket, MA. She is also survived by sisters-in-law, Elizabeth Showacre of Coralville, IA, Mary Hemken (Roger) of Lexington, KY, Donna Jean Willman of St. Louis, MO; and brothers-in-law, Richard Showacre of Seattle, WA, and Philip Bartlett of Nantucket, MA; several nieces, nephews and great-nieces and great- nephews.

Edie will be remembered for her exceptional teaching talents, for her friendliness, her quick wit, and her love of family. She will be greatly missed by her family, and many friends who got to know her over the years.

Edie loved these lines by poet Emily Dickinson:

"This world is not conclusion,

a sequel stands beyond,

invisible, as music

but positive, as sound."

There will be a service in her memory at St. John’s Episcopal Church on Wednesday, December 28, 2005, at 1:00 p.m. A private interment will be held after the memorial service. Contributions for an Ithaca High School award in honor of Edith W. Showacre may be made to The Community Foundation of Tompkins County, Inc., 309 N. Aurora Street, Ithaca, NY 14850. The Ithaca High School English Department has agreed to make the award. Perkins Funeral Home, 55 West Main St., Dryden, NY, is assisting the family.