In Memory of

Edna

Cralle'

Sanders

Johnston

(Sanders)

Obituary for Edna Cralle' Sanders Johnston (Sanders)

Edna Cralle' Sanders Johnston, 102, passed from this life on August 26, 2013.
She was born in Kilmarnock, Va. on July 26, 1911 to George Washington and Lillian Cralle' Sanders.

She was a graduate of White Stone High School and Randolph-Macon Women’s College in Lynchburg, Va. where she majored in Classic Languages. Mrs. Johnston was a lifetime member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society and she taught one year in the high school at Wicomico Church.

In 1935, she married Joseph Shackford Johnston, a young minister in the
Methodist Conference of Virginia, and they celebrated 69 years of marriage prior to his death in 2004. As the wife of a Methodist minister, she served
alongside her “Joe” in churches in Whaleyville, Oakton, Warrenton, Arlington, Norfolk ,Richmond, Alexandria, Springfield, and Petersburg.
She also served with him in his positions as District Superintendent of the
Petersburg and Norfolk districts and first president of Virginia Wesleyan
College.
Mrs. Johnston was the mother of three children, a Sunday School teacher, a member of the Women’s Society of Christian Service, a member of the Women’s Club of White Stone, and a community volunteer. She enjoyed reading, gardening, and staying in touch with friends made over the years.

Upon retirement, she and Joe lived in her childhood home in White Stone.
In 2001, they moved to Rappahannock Westminster- Canterbury. She is remembered as the wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother who nourished her family with love.

She was preceded in death by her brother, George W. Sanders, III. Surviving are her daughters, Anne J. Owen of Kilmarnock, Va .and Ginger Philbrick and her husband Jim of White Stone, Va.; her son Joe Johnston and his wife Susan of Berryville, Va.; her grandchildren, Lee Anne Washington of White Stone, Va., Edna Whay and her husband , Scott of Lancaster, Amanda Washington of White Stone, Va., Jennifer Einhorn of Voorhees, NJ., Andrew Johnston and his wife, Tricia of Annapolis, Md., and Stephen Johnston and his wife, Christina also of Annapolis, Md. James Philbrick, III and his wife, Rayna of Hatboro, Pa., and Michael Philbrick and his wife, Sharon of Port Jefferson, NY., and 15 great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held 11:00 a.m., Saturday, August 31, 2013 at the White Stone United Methodist Church. The family will receive friends at The Sanders House, 530 Chesapeake Drive, White Stone, Va. from 6 o’clock until 8 o’clock p.m. Friday, August 30, 2013. A reception will be held at The Sanders House immediately following the service on Saturday.

Memorial contributions may be made to Virginia Wesleyan College, 1584 Wesleyan Drive, Norfolk, VA. 23502 or White Stone United Methodist Church, P. O. Box 185, White Stone, VA. 22578.