Edith Merriman Broadwell

May 12, 1923 - May 19, 2018

Edith (“Edie”) Merriman Broadwell, 95, passed away peacefully in Palo Alto, California. She was born in Mishawaka, Indiana. Her family moved to LaGrange, Indiana, where she went to school, graduating from LaGrange High School in 1940. She worked as Deputy Clerk of LaGrange County Circuit Court. During World War II, she left LaGrange and became the secretary to the Commanding Officer of the Army Air Forces Base at Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio. There, she met her future husband, James E. (“Gene”) Broadwell, who was then serving in the U.S. Army Air Forces.

Edie and Gene were married in October, 1943, days before he was posted to Caltech in Pasadena for special training. They drove across the country and spent two semesters in Pasadena, while Gene earned his master’s degree in Aeronautics at Caltech. He was then posted back to Dayton to continue his work on aircraft engine design, and they stayed there until 1948. Their first daughter was born while they were living in Dayton.

In 1948, Edie and Gene moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where Gene earned a Ph.D. in aeronautical engineering at the University of Michigan, and where two daughters were born. Edie had her own television show in Ann Arbor, acted in university plays, and was a Brownie and Girl Scout troop leader. Edie and Gene later moved to southern California, where Gene worked in the aerospace industry. Edie was active in the PTA as well as in the League of Women Voters and in Democratic party politics. For several years, Edie owned a retail store at Lake Tahoe, specializing in Scandinavian Christmas decorations.

Edie and Gene traveled extensively. When Gene retired, they moved from Palos Verdes, CA, to Half Moon Bay and then to Menlo Park, CA., where Edie volunteered at senior centers. Edie and Gene both enjoyed playing tennis and hiking in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. They were physically active well into their nineties.

Edie was survived by her husband for only a month. Gene passed away peacefully on June 22, 2018, at Sunrise Senior Living in Palo Alto, where Edie and Gene had been living. The family wishes to thank everyone who cared for them in their last years.

The Broadwells are survived by their three daughters, Ann Broadwell (Thomas R. Adams) of Burlingame, California, Susan Broadwell Schwimmer (John Schwimmer) of Scottsdale, Arizona, and Kathy Broadwell (Ken Chiles), of Poway, California. They are also survived by their grandson, Nathan Broadwell Schwimmer (Anne Driscoll) and their two great-granddaughters, Norah and Nina Schwimmer, all of Scottsdale, Arizona, and by Edie’s sister, Bonnie Walter and sister-in-law, Jayne Merriman, both of LaGrange, Indiana.