Edith Emilia Williams Ostrom, of Burton, Vashon Island, died peacefully at her home on the evening of April 25 with all her children at her side. She was 93.

She was born in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood on May 14, 1915. Her parents, Finnish immigrants farming on Bainbridge Island, rowed their newborn home across Puget Sound. During her childhood she witnessed the arrival of electricity on Bainbridge; rode her horse bareback to get around before her family got its first car; and earned money at the strawberry cannery and as a mother’s helper. Despite speaking only Finnish until starting school, she graduated from high school with twelve years’ perfect attendance and a perfect “A” average, and was named class valedictorian. She entered the University of Washington in 1933.

Her parents, Frank and Emmi Williams, came to Bainbridge when they married in 1914, and lived at Rolling Bay until their deaths in 1968 and 1970. They operated a small dairy farm until about 1968, and for some years had a “butter and eggs” route, delivering to Bainbridge customers. Frank also worked at his brother’s shipyard in Port Blakely, was a logger for many years and an officer in the Fallers and Buckers Union.

Their son and Edith’s brother, Frank Alfred Williams, a master cabinetmaker for the U.S. Navy, remained in the family home until he died in 2000. Sometimes known as ‘the marshall of Rolling Bay,” he was the subject of at least one feature article in the Bainbridge Review.

Several years ago the Williams farm was considered for purchase by the City of Bainbridge Island as part of its open space program, and was the subject of another feature article.

After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in home economics, Edith taught in Moclips, Concrete and Clarkston, Wash., before joining the staff of Vashon High School in 1942. Her classroom was next to that of history teacher Roy Ostrom. As he often told the story, she would leave a connecting door open whenever her class was preparing something that smelled especially good. They were married at the end of the school year.

She resigned from her teaching job when daughter Brita was born in 1944 but returned to the high school as a substitute teacher, for many years its only one. As a result, she claimed eventually to have taught every subject except boys’ P.E.

After living at first in a rental home on Vashon, in 1946 Edith, Roy and Brita moved to the property where they lived for the rest of their lives. With the sons who followed, they cared for a turn-of-the-century orchard, sheep, chickens, ducks, and a large garden. After Roy retired in 1972, he and Edith traveled widely throughout North America by Greyhound, always eagerly returning to their hilltop.

With a clear view of the intersection at the top of the Burton Peninsula, Edith’s dining room table served as a center of neighborhood information, and was for many years the site of a daily neighborhood coffee klatch when the mail came. In the 1950s and 1960s, active as a Girl Scout, Cub Scout and PTA leader, president of the Burton Library Board and very involved in the Burton Community Church, she served informally as Burton string reporter for the Islander News-Record and later the Beachcomber. The PTA made her a lifetime member. She knew everyone, and spoke badly of no one.

Roy died in 1986. Even in her later years, Edith continued to make friends of all her new neighbors, and of her adult children’s friends. She hosted an annual cider making party and potluck from 1975 to 2008. She also stayed in touch with old friends on Bainbridge.

She is survived by her three children and their families: daughter Brita (Torrey Waag) of Big Sur, Calif., granddaughter Ivy Lavie (Shai) and great-granddaughter Hanaleia of Fairfax, Calif.; son Douglas (Kathy) and granddaughter Emily of Tokyo, Japan and grandson Erik of Portland, Ore.; and son Warren (Jana) of Shoreline, grandson Felix of Seattle, and granddaughter Rosa of Richmond, Ind.

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. June 20 at the Burton Community Church on Vashon Island. The family suggests that memorial gifts be made to the Burton Community Church, P. O. Box 13134, Burton, WA 98103-0134 or to Vashon Island Fire and Rescue, P. O. Box 1150, Vashon, WA 98070.