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Edith Radies Obituary

Edith J. Radies, 96, of Reading, passed away Saturday, July 8th, at the Lutheran Home at Topton. 
She was born in Berlin, Germany on February 15, 1927, the daughter of the late Julianna (Zagrodnik) and Leo Purkop and was the widow of Werner A. Radies, who passed away in 1999.

Edith is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Norman and Cindy (Dautrich) Radies; three grandchildren, Christopher Johnson, Lauren Moyer and Lindsay Radies and four great grandchildren, Joseph D. Johnson, Grace, Nolan and Harrison Moyer. She was predeceased by her daughter, Barbara Johnson.
Edith was small in stature, but she was mighty. Growing up in war-torn Germany, she saw and experienced things that even a generation or two removed, can hardly fathom. It was Edith’s strong spirit and courageous heart that allowed her and her husband and two young children to make the brave decision to leave behind their families and homeland to secure a better life and more hopeful future for young Barbara and Norman in America. They immigrated to Reading, Pennsylvania in 1955, and in 1964, she proudly became a US citizen. Tradition was very important to Edith, but she showed balance and grace in keeping alive the memories of where she had come from, while creating and welcoming a new story for her future. 

For her grandchildren, she would do anything. She could turn a bag of buttons into an afternoon pastime and a sugar cube into a cure-all. She was magic in the kitchen. After hours spent working from scratch, she would sit down at the table and watch her family eat. She would always ask, “is it alright?” as if it had not been what everyone had been anticipating since the moment the waft of kitchen aromas had entered their noses. Her mocha torte was the apex of any birthday celebration, and to this day, September doesn’t feel like September without a piece of her plum cake. She was a tidy housekeeper. There was not a pillow out of place. Drapes were washed and ironed regularly, and her décor was timeless in any season, or decade. Her home was her oasis where her most valued treasures on earth would gather; her family.

Trained as both a tailor and seamstress while in Germany, she worked at a number of high-end dress shops in the Reading area (while also being a full-time homemaker) until she was able to open her own dress shop – Edith’s Fashion Corner in 1970. She was a brilliant talent with a needle and thread. She made dresses for her granddaughters, and dance recital costumes for her great-granddaughter. Whatever she made, she made with love, and sewed a piece of her heart onto every sleeve. Later, she obtained a teaching certificate and taught Sewing and Home Economics at Reading Muhlenberg Career and Technology Center and made a difference in the lives of so many of her students. The greatest lesson she ever taught and the legacy she leaves behind, is to be steadfast in the pursuit of your dreams and do the hard things with virtue and love in your heart.
Services are private at the convenience of the family. Arrangements entrusted to John P. Feeney Funeral Home, Inc. 625 N. 4th Street at Centre Ave., Reading, PA 19601, 610-372-4160.

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