Edie Avery, Sebastopol police volunteer, dies at 92

Born into a hardscrabble New Mexico ranching family, Edie Avery confronted life’s headwinds early on.

The Sebastopol woman’s childhood was marked by crushing poverty, her father’s untimely death and separation from her six siblings. Later, she was met with widowhood and cancer.

But up until her death Wednesday at the age of 92, Avery overcame every challenge. She did so, according to her daughter, with a lot of “spunk.”

“There was nothing that could hold her back,” said Lynette Avery of Santa Rosa.

At the Sebastopol Police Department, people marveled at Edie Avery’s drive and dedication. She was the department’s longest-serving community services volunteer, a fact noted by the “C1” imprinted on the silver metal badge that she was required to wear.

“She was just so resilient,” Sebastopol Police Chief Jeff Weaver said. “When she came here - and she was 80, by the way - she was fighting cancer for the first time.”

One of Avery’s main volunteer assignments was to sort and file police records, including those of a sensitive nature.

Weaver said Friday that he had to take time to dig through the files to retrieve forms for fingerprinting, a task Avery could have completed in a snap.

“She made a difference here, and we’re paying the price for her absence,” the chief said.

Avery started volunteering with the police department in 2003 and didn’t stop until a few months ago, when her health became more frail. On Wednesday, she succumbed to lung cancer at her apartment at Burbank Heights on Bodega Avenue, with her daughter and a granddaughter at her side. Avery was the longest-tenured resident of the retirement community, having moved there nearly three decades ago.

By that time, she’d already overcome so much.

Mary Edith Porter was born May 7, 1923, in what was then known as Central, N.M. The name has since been changed to Santa Clara.

Edie, as she was known, was one of seven children born to Don and Pearl Porter, who worked a scrub ranch several miles outside town. It was a hard life, but the family found joy in small pleasures, such as Don’s harmonica playing and Pearl’s biscuits and gravy.

Tragedy struck in 1935, when Don suddenly died of a heart-related illness. Edie was 12.

Pearl tried her best to cope with the demands of the large brood amid the crippling economic malaise of the Great Depression. But the battle proved too much, and the kids were sent to live with other relatives.

Edie, the second-oldest, went to live with an aunt and uncle in Weed, N.M., where she graduated from high school. She enrolled at Western New Mexico University but stayed only a semester after meeting her future husband, Aubrey Avery, at a Halloween party hosted at a relative’s house. Edie wore her cousin’s football uniform to the party, and Aubrey was duded up like a farmer.

The couple married on May 10, 1942. In Central, they raised four children while Aubrey worked zinc mines for the Asarco Mining Co. He later was selected to work copper mines in the company town of Silver Bell, Ariz., and brought the family along with him.

Lynette Avery said her mother was so happy to leave New Mexico and an adobe home with no running water. She said her mother “was in heaven” when the family moved into an apartment in Arizona, and later, when they found a home of their own.

Health problems forced Aubrey to retire in 1975. He died three years later, dealing another blow to Edie. With no job training or prospects, she moved to Sebastopol, where her son, Don, worked in the health care industry.

Edie drove a bus for the Council on Aging before going to work in the cafeteria services office of the West Sonoma County Union High School District, a job she held until her retirement in 1991.

Never one to sit still, Edie enjoyed crocheting and working crossword puzzles.

“She never wanted to learn how to look up anything on the Internet, but she was always on it with the emails and playing card games,” Lynette Avery said.

Her Christian faith was another passion, one she relied upon through her many trials.

Survivors include children Cathy Harris of Sand Springs, Okla.; Lynette Avery of Santa Rosa; and Duane Avery of Spring Branch, Texas.

Also surviving Edie are siblings Edwin Porter of Mangum, Okla., and Eleanor Elkins of Sentinel, Okla.

A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. June 13 at the Redwood Christian Fellowship on Healdsburg Avenue.

The family suggests sending donations to the Sebastopol Police Department. Weaver said checks should be payable to the City of Sebastopol with “donation” written on the memo line. As another option, the family recommended donations to Apple Valley Post-Acute Care Rehab.

You can reach Staff Writer Derek Moore at 521-5336 or derek.moore@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @deadlinederek.