Edna Mae “Eddie” (Wylie) Courneya, 91, of Ocklawaha, Fla., died Monday, March 20, 2017, at Harmony House in Little Falls, Minn.

She was born May 29,1925, in Crookston, Minn., to John Wesley Wylie and Maude Marion (McGhee) Wylie. Edna Mae had two siblings, older brother John Mac and younger sister Vernie. As a daughter of loving and supportive parents, who were educators, Edna Mae had a blessed and carefree childhood, even though as she often said, “It was wartime.” She loved the outdoors and her pets as a child. She even talked her Dad into buying her a pony (Happy Hooligan) and told of hiding a stray white kitten in their coal bin. She also treasured her summers on Aunt Mary’s Iowa farm while her Dad was furthering his education.

She started school in Lake Park, Minn., and continued her education in Frazee, Minn., where she played flute in the high school band and was active with the drama department. She graduated in 1943.

She went on to secretarial school then to Wichita State University, staying with her Aunt Flora LeBlond. While attending college, she worked as a clerk and part-time bookkeeper for the Innes Department Store in Wichita, Kan., and thoroughly loved her job and colleagues.

After a prom first date in 1942 and a few years of dating and separation for Cliff’s military service and Edna’s college, she was sure Cliff “was the one” and they were married July 3, 1947, at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Frazee, Minn. They shared an unwavering union that has always been a modeled example to their children, other family and acquaintances.

Also, in 1947, with the help of Cliff’s family, Edna Mae and Cliff built and ran a supper club on Rose Lake near Frazee, Minn. It is still operating as Spanky’s Stone Hearth. Following that Cliff was employed as a heavy equipment mechanic for the John Dieseth Co. and rather than be separated they purchased an 8-by-28 travel trailer and Edna Mae and their four children (first set of twins), made their home on the road.

In 1953, Cliff secured a diesel mechanic position with Caterpillar in Crookston, Minn., and they bought a house there. Together they tore down a large farm house for lumber to build on to that house. They built it together from design to completion. It was during those years that four more children, including the second set of twins, were born.

No one could ask what Edna Mae was doing with her time. She had a big garden in Crookston, Minn., and each fall the kitchen became “the canning factory.” She did some full-time child care and volunteered as a room mother at the Cathedral grade school. Edna Mae even found time and energy to lead a Campfire Girls troop, Boy Scout troops, and was co-host and co-leader for adult religious discussion groups. Her evenings were spent sewing clothing for the children and, in later years, knitting and reading.

Upon a transfer with Caterpillar for Cliff, they moved to Hibbing in 1966. Again she volunteered at the Blessed Sacrament grade school as a room mother. After the passing of her father, Edna Mae was always there for her mother who lived next door in both Crookston, Minn., and Hibbing.

Edna Mae and her sister, Vernie, had an extraordinary bond and shared Saturday morning phone calls religiously for about 26 years. She so adored her brother, John Mac, with whom she shared many adventures until he was a victim of homicide during a robbery at 19 years of age while in college out of state.

Edna Mae always said the good Lord had a huge grin on His face when He blessed her with eight children, six boys and two girls. An untrodden road since her immediate family consisted of only two siblings, one cousin and one niece. She forever made sure that people knew she had two sets of twins.

Cliff and Edna Mae placed a very high value on education and faith and all of their children took that to heart. They were in alignment with their values and discipline and Edna Mae had a secret weapon (“The Look!”). Cliff placed Edna Mae on a pedestal and referred to her as “The Queen,” which amused their children at times and showed the tremendous respect he had for her.

After retirement, Cliff and Edna Mae traveled with sister, Vernie, across the United States for a few years. In 1985, they built a home in the Ocala National Forest near Forest Corners, Fla., on land purchased and given to them by Cliff’s father, Louis J. Courneya.

They, with Edna’s mother Maude Wylie, always had a cabin on the lake. The first one, built by Edna’s father, on Rose Lake near Frazee, Minn., and the second on Swan Lake near Pengilly. Countless memories were formed through the lake living experience. She had a chance to visit Ireland with son Mark and she was sure she could verify the existence of leprechauns.

She is survived by children: Terry (Terry) Taylor, John (Linda), Richard, Robert (Mary), Patrick (Michele), Mark, Mary Ellen (Mark) Martinez, and Daniel (Sandy); 17 grandchildren, 40 great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; sister, Luverne Elizabeth (Wylie) McMillen; cousin, Georgene (Horn) Butler; and many loving nieces and nephews

She was preceded in death by husband, Clifford M. Courneya; brother, John Mac Wylie; grandson, Eric Courneya; and daughter-in-law, Wanda Krupa (Richard).