Edith Bredehoft

Edith Julia Bredehoft, 92, passed away at Mercy Hospice in Johnston November 19, 2020.

Edith was born May 26, 1928 in Vienna, Austria. In 1939, her family left a life of comfortable normalcy in Austria, fleeing Nazi persecution, after her mother secured a visa in time for her father to be released from Dachau, a German Concentration Camp. She and her family were forced to give up almost all of their belongings and things of value. The family emigrated to Shanghai, China, where they would live as Jewish refugees in impoverished conditions much of the time. When war also broke out in the Pacific, Edith later recalled she and her mother being slapped in the face for standing too close to a Japanese civilian. She also recounted running home and seeing no one in the streets except for hundreds of corpses piled up by the Chinese, when the factory she worked at had been bombed. When the war was finally over and the Americans came, she and her parents emigrated to the United States in 1948.

Edith lived most of her life on Des Moines’ Southside. She started to work at National Travelers Life Co. in 1949 and worked there for 43 years! While she started working as a clerical person, by the time of her retirement in 1992, she had been promoted and worked many years as a death claims auditor. She volunteered for many years at the Des Moines Botanical Center after her retirement, as well.

Edith kept a few close friends over the years and relished laughing together and sharing inside stories and some of her funny drawings. During the early years of her retirement, she also loved to travel, visiting her son in Hawaii many times, and also her extended family in Seattle. She also very much loved flowers, spending time with her cats while also trying to help rescue some strays, and watching and feeding the geese at the local parks. She once drove to Nebraska by herself to watch the migrating geese, too, Lastly, she loved to eat dark chocolate.

Edith is survived by her children, Debbi Mahon and Randy Bredehoft, and her, current, beloved cats Houdina and Liger.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Oskar and Clara Richter, and her sister Eva Manley.

The family will greet friends Wednesday, November 25, 2020 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. followed by a Celebration of Life at 2 p.m. Edith will be laid to rest with her parents at Woodland Cemetery at a later date.

Condolences may be expressed at www.HamiltonsFuneralHome.com

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