Edna Livengood

Edna Lucile Helvey Livengood, age 103 of Midway, passed into the more immediate presence of her Lord and Savior, Sunday, November 2, 2025. A funeral service will be held at 11:00 am, Thursday, November 13, 2025, at Home Moravian Church, where she was a member, conducted by Rev. Virginia Tobiassen and Rev. Scott Venable and burial will follow in God's Acre. The family will see friends following the committal in the Home Church parlor.

Mrs. Livengood was born on October 9, 1922, in Bland County, Virginia, to Henry Granger Helvey and Eulalie Honaker Helvey. Along with her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Alfred (Dick) Smith Livengood, her son, Alfred Livengood Jr., and 10 brothers and sisters.

First Lieutenant Edna Lucile Helvey was a nurse in the United States Army Reserve Nurse Corps. She graduated from the School of Nursing at the Medical College of Virginia in May 1943. At the time of graduation, she was not yet 21 years of age and was too young to enlist in the US Army. She then joined the Army Reserves. She was the first nurse in the state of Virginia to sign up for the Army Reserves. She was called to active duty in January 1945 and provided bedside and operating room nursing care while serving in various Army hospitals in the US and Hawaii. She worked in Valley Forge General Hospital, St. Louis Heights Hospital, Oahu, Hawaii, and Schofield Barracks, Oahu, Hawaii. Her active duty ended in May 1946, as the war had ended in the Pacific. After the end of WWII, she remained in the Army Reserves but returned to civilian work. She worked in a variety of places before being hired as the Operating Supervisor at City Hospital in Winston-Salem, NC. Edna Helvey married Alfred S. Livengood in 1952. She was called back into service at the time of the Korean War when she found out she was pregnant with her first child, after which she received an honorable discharge in 1953.

Edna was full of stories of growing up in the mountains of Virginia, serving in the Army Nurse Corps, and working in the medical field long before today's modern advancements.

Following her career in nursing, Edna committed her life to her family. Edna found the most joy when she knew her family was healthy and comfortable. She exhibited her love to her family by cooking, baking, sewing, and gardening. She was an excellent cook and enjoyed creating new dishes and desserts, especially cakes. She taught herself how to sew and was a gifted seamstress. She fashioned clothing for her children, dolls, costumes, wedding gowns, ministers' surplices, confirmation robes, and draperies. Many items were created without commercial patterns.

Edna was very proud of her children and grandchildren; she was happiest when she could spend time with her family.

When Edna was 96 years old, she became a Daughter of the American Revolution when research revealed one of her ancestors was a patriot. At age 100, she became the oldest female veteran to participate in The Triad Honor Flight to Washington, DC. She was honored to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Her remarkable experience was later highlighted in the November 2023 edition of Our State magazine.

Surviving are her daughters, Elizabeth (Libby) Ayers (Dennis) of Winston-Salem and Dawn Widger (Martin) of Southport, and a son, Stephen Merritt Martin (Judy) of Georgia. Also surviving are two grandsons, Brandon and Christopher Widger.

The family requests that any memorials be made to Hospice of Davidson County, 201 Hospice Way, Lexington, NC 27292.