Edith Elise Briggs, 89, wife of the Rev. George Briggs, died April 12, 2015, in hospice care in Winston-Salem, NC. She was born June 7, 1925 in Portland, Oregon to Alfred Holman and Edith Wilcox Holman. Elise graduated from Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon. Her professional career included working with migrant workers in Oregon, working for the USF&G Insurance Company in Portland, and as a librarian in Beaumont, Texas, after she was married.
She married the Rev. George Briggs in 1957 and became a devoted minister’s wife in Methodist churches and then in Unitarian Universalist congregations for the remainder of her life. As her daughter, Irma, was growing up Elise served as a Brownie leader and a Girl Scout Leader. She also led a junior nature club during their time in Pittsfield, Maine.
Elise became interested in genealogy in her 60s and over a 20-year period researched several lines of her family tree and those of her husband’s. She enjoyed knitting, crocheting and sewing until she lost much of her vision in later life. Never one to sit by, she started to study Braille when she was 86.
She was predeceased by her parents; her stepfather, Frank Winner, who married her mother when Elise was 10 years old; her sister Marian Strandberg; and her stepsister Carolyn Winner. She is survived by her husband, the Rev. George Briggs; her daughter, Irma Briggs Polster; her son-in-law, Mark Polster; three grandsons; and her extended family.
The family wishes to thank the volunteers and employees at the Danby House, Kate B. Reynolds Hospice, and the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Winston-Salem for their kind and loving care. Memorial gifts may be sent to Crisis Control Ministry, 200 East Tenth Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101; Kate B. Reynolds Hospice, 101 Hospice Lane, Winston-Salem, NC 27103, or the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Winston-Salem, 4055 Robinhood Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27106.
A memorial service was planned for Sunday, June 7 (which would have been her 90th birthday) at the UU Fellowship of Winston-Salem. Notes of remembrance may be sent to George Briggs, 2945 Reynolda Rd., Apt. 226, Winston-Salem, NC 27106.