W.T. Shumake & Daughters

Edna Lee Coleman Dew, 84, departed this life on Thursday, August 22, 2024, at Baptist Health Hospital in Louisville, KY, after a long battle with cancer.

Visitation 11am - 12pm Wednesday, September 4, 2024, at W.T. Shumake & Daughters Funeral Home 3815 Newburg Road. A Life Reflection service will follow at 12pm. Burial Kentucky Veteran Cemetery, 2501 N Dixie Blvd, Radcliff, KY.

Edna Lee Coleman Dew was born in Temple, Texas, to Mr. Willie Coleman and Mary Coleman Sheffield on Saturday, March 30, 1940. She grew up in San Antonio, TX, attending local Catholic schools, where she enjoyed singing with her sisters in their group, The Colemans. In 1959, Edna was invited on a blind date by her cousin, where she would meet her husband of 54 years, Erskine J. Dew, Sr., who was stationed at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. They would often laugh about not talking much throughout that first night. As the evening came to an end, Erskine would lovingly say, “Edna was playing hard to get!” They eventually started dating, and after a brief courtship, they married on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 1960, at the Fort Sam Houston Chapel. Together, they built a life and family that endured many deployments, moves around the country, and two assignments to Germany. They loved to dance, enjoy the company of good friends, barbecue, share stories, and often traveled to Calhoun, GA; Atlanta, GA; and San Antonio, TX. After 21 years of military life, they settled the family in Louisville, KY.

Edna worked with Allied Van Lines for many years as a household goods packer and home health aide before settling in as a full-time homemaker. Over the years, she remained steadfast in taking care of the needs of her children and grandchildren. She was a mother to all those who passed by and through the doors of the Dew household. Edna was a member of Community Baptist Church and was known to deliver a service-stopping solo from time to time as a choir member. In her later years, she kept her mind sharp by engaging in hobbies such as crocheting, sewing, making picture books, and talking with friends and family on the phone. However, her true passion was collecting lighthouses and dolls—lots of dolls! Even though she couldn’t move around as freely in the last few years, she still found a way to order more dolls and find joy in her artistic talents with African American coloring books that kept her at peace for hours. Edna enjoyed listening to music on her Beats headphones, often snapping her fingers, singing, moving to the beat, and listening to MSNBC News way too loud!

Edna Lee Coleman Dew, 84, departed this life on Thursday, August 22, 2024, at Baptist Health Hospital in Louisville, KY, after a long battle with cancer. She is preceded in death by her husband, Erskine J. Dew, Sr.; her sons, Michael L. Hardy and Anthony L. Dew, Sr.; her granddaughter, Latasha Mills; her parents; and her sister, Dorothy Turman.

Edna Lee Dew is survived by her children: Terry L. Donald, Rosevelt L. Hardy (Heather), Ephriam Benyamin Yashar’El, Thomas E. Dew (Patricia), Patricia A. Dew, Erskine J. Dew, Jr. (Candace), and Brett Dew (Eronica); 28 grandchildren; 26 great-grandchildren; her sister, Lillian Berry of San Antonio, TX; and a host of friends and family.