Ruth M. Edes

(Martha) Ruth McKnight (Olds) Edes was born on November 20, 1923 in West Philadelphia to the late Andrew John and Ethel (Gorman) McKnight. She had one brother, Bill, who has passed. They attended Harrington Elementary, Shaw Junior High, and West Philadelphia High Schools. At the age of six, Ruth began to sing in choirs as 2nd soprano and continued into her eighties where she sang for the Craven Community Chorus in Craven County, NC, who toured and performed at the Biltmore Estates in NC. After high school Ruth began working at Fidelity Bank as a messenger and eventually worked her way into the accounting department. She ended her time at Fidelity when she married Frank Olds, who lived two doors up on the same side of South Ruby St in West Philly. Frank and Ruth had three children in King of Prussia, Nancy, Wayne, and Bruce before they divorced. During that time, she was a long standing member of the Valley Forge Presbyterian Church choir as well as being involved with Girl Scouts as a leader. Ruth also was an avid craftsperson, sewing many clothing items for her kids as well as costumes for school plays and curtains for the home, and then there were her plants on the patio and in every room of the house! Also, her children often referred to her as the ”Jell-O Queen”!Ruth then met and married Bill Edes, and she helped raise a step-son Billy from Bill’s previous marriage. Bill and Ruth loved to travel. They explored the west coast of the U.S. as well as Hawaii, St. Thomas and Alaska and were always ready to embark on their next adventure together.From the time Ruth was in 8th grade, she and about 10 girlfriends started to meet socially and formed a ‘club’. They continued to meet periodically throughout the years, changing venues to each other’s homes or public places, and this continued right up until the first time they moved to NC after Bill’s retirement in the mid-nineties Although this ‘club’ had no official name, when Mom said ‘the club was getting together’, everyone knew what that meant. Ruth was the last living member of that ‘club’ and, ironically, wound up sharing a hallway at Columbia Cottage Assisted Living in Collegeville, PA a few years ago with the only other surviving member at the time! All have now passed. 

She is survived by 4 children:Nancy (Olds) Denczi;Wayne Olds;Bruce Olds husband of Denise Olds;William (Billy) Edes husband of Linda Edes.5 Grandchildren:George Denczi, IV;David Olds husband of Danielle Olds;Ashleigh (Olds) Vespaziani and Nicholas Vespaziani;Nicholas Edes;Thomas Edes.2 Great-grandchildren, Haley Denczi and Lillianna Vespaziani.

Funeral Services are private at the convenience of the family.In lieu of flowers contributions may be given to Valley Forge Presbyterian Church, 191 Town Center Road, King of Prussia, PA 19406.