Edie

Edith Elizabeth Kirkman Bielski, the second child of Chris IV and Hazel Clark Kirkman, was an elementary school teacher, a pillar of her church and community, and a splendid wife and mother. She also was warm, charming, bubbly and had a wonderful sense of humor.

Born in Flushing, NY on March 21, 1935, Edie graduated from Bayside High School, Oneonta (NY) State Teachers College and earned a master’s degree in education at the University of Maryland. She taught kindergarten in Center Moriches, Long Island, and Bowie, MD.

In 1957, Edie married Peter Bielski of Center Moriches, Long Island, also a graduate of Oneonta who later earned masters and doctorate degrees from the University of Maryland. They lived most of their lives in Center Moriches, NY, Bowie and Annapolis, MD, and were respected members of Maryland’s teaching community. Pete became a principal and administrator in the Prince George’s and Baltimore, MD school systems.

Edie and Pete had four children: Patricia (now Mrs. William Patterson of Bowie, MD); Peter, a teacher, also of Bowie; Gayle, (now Mrs. Robbie Steinke and director of a fitness center in Vail, CO), and Jacquelyne (now Mrs. Lt. Cdr. Kenneth Walls, United States Navy).

Edie had 12 grandchildren: six by her daughter Patricia Patterson, two by her daughter Gayle Steinke, two by her daughter Jacquelyn Walls, and two by her son Peter.

In the 1970s, Edie contracted her father’s illness, Hodgkin’s Disease, but was successfully treated by newly discovered drugs. However, the disease apparently weakened her and she succumbed to a massive stroke on Dec. 14, 1993 and was buried in Bowie, MD. The library at Kenilworth School in Bowie memorializes her long teaching career.