Katherine “Kitty” Coulbourn Edwards passed away on Jan. 20 at the age of 102, in her home in Falls Church, surrounded by her daughters.

Kitty Edwards was a resident of Falls Church for 65 years. Her husband of 49 years, Col. Luther Rice Edwards, from Franklin, predeceased her in 1989.

Kitty grew up in Suffolk, the daughter of Goldsborough Greenfield Coulbourn and Anna Katherine Tilghman Coulbourn.She graduated from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in 1932. Kitty and Rice met in Washington D.C., married in 1939, and moved to Falls Church after World War II. Kitty was an active businesswoman managing her family properties, a member of the Falls Church Episcopal Church, a Girl Scout leader, a member of the National Society Colonial Dames XVII Century Jamestown Chapter and the Daughters of the American Revolution, and a community volunteer. She brightened the lives of those around her by sharing with them her love of the piano, poetry, history, literature, and art.

She will be greatly missed by her four surviving daughters, Nancy Edwards Brockman of Charlottesville, Katherine Bourke Edwards of Alexandria, Marion Edwards Birkhead of Virginia Beach, and Priscilla Edwards Englert of Centennial, Colorado, and their families, including her 10 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren, who affectionately called her their “Mum-mum.”

The family would like to extend their heartfelt love and gratitude to Kitty’s caregivers, Helena Ramirez, Rosario Ruiz, Julissa Chaparro, and Giovanna Tello. Their loving devotion and care during her final years greatly enriched her life.

Kitty Edwards did not just pass through people’s lives. She marched through life with exuberance and spirit, giving a unique part of herself to everyone who knew her. Gifts in her memory may be donated “In Support of Student Scholarships,” to Randolph College (successor to Randolph-Macon Woman’s College), 2500 Rivermont Avenue, Lynchburg, Virginia 24503.