Edith Pearl Sorgen, age 89, of Sweet Home passed away Wednesday. She was born in Lawton, Kansas to George and Mary Elizabeth (Marker) Spencer.

She lived in Sweet Home in 1947, and then moved to Eugene in 1951. She moved from Eugene to Bend in 1968 and remained there until moving back to Sweet Home in 1986.

Edith worked for a time as head cook at St. Charles Hospital in Bend, and as a cook at a University of Oregon fraternity house. In the 1970s, she was a crew boss for a construction project that her husband also worked on. She single-handedly built two pre-fabricated homes in a shop her husband customized for her.

She loved to hunt, fish, and cook for her family on those outings. She volunteered at the senior center as a cook for many years. When she wasn’t sewing or cooking she was winning at cards.

Edith started hand stitching quilts in 1984. By 1998, she had completed 120 full-sized quilts—all handmade. She made 161 quilts in her lifetime. She displayed and sold these quilts at the Sisters Outdoor Quilt show. She was the featured quilter for two years. Some of her quilts have been purchased by people from other countries. Edith was also featured in a magazine.

Each year she and her sister, Dorothy, canned fruits and vegetables, including green beans, corn, and peaches. They also pressure-canned jars of boned turkey, mostly for gifts.

Edith is survived by her sister, Dorothy Smith of Sweet Home; niece, Janie Hartman of Lebanon; nephews, Jim Smith of Brownsville and John Smith of Sweet Home; numerous other nieces and nephews living away from the area; five grandchildren; and some great and great great grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her first husband, John Marshall, in 1954 and her second husband, Paul Sorgen, in 1986; son, Wayne, in 1985; eight brothers and sisters; and one grandson, Jon Marshall, in 2004.

Graveside service will be at 2:00 p.m., Monday, April 7, at Rest Haven Cemetery, 3900 Willamette Street, Eugene, Oregon. Sweet Home Funeral Chapel is handling arrangements.