In loving memory of
E. Edith "Edie" Reifsnyder
March 8, 1924 - October 2, 2017
E. Edith "Edie" (Schaeffer) Reifsnyder, a resident of Penn Township, entered eternal life on Monday October 2nd at her home near Bernville.
Edith was born on March 8, 1924 in Jefferson Township, the daughter of the late Charles H. and Sallie A. (Degler) Schaeffer.
She graduated from Penn-Bernville High School in 1941 and then completed a 1½ year course in bookkeeping at McCann School of Business in Reading.
Edith married Vernon Reifsnyder on September 9, 1950 in St. Thomas Church, Bernville. They met in the 4th grade at school, but their first date was after World War II - a walk up by the Bernville cemetery after a Memorial Day parade.
Edith was a homemaker and secretary/bookkeeper, employed by Lee F. Potteiger, Accountant of Wyomissing and other firms.
She was a member of St. Thomas Church, Bernville where she taught Sunday School and Vacation Bible School and played piano for many functions. Her first Sunday School class was the "Happy Little Helpers" in 1946.
Edith loved to play the piano. Her house still has the used piano that was purchased for $40 when she was a young girl - the exact amount that had been saved from $1 Christmas and birthday presents to that time. She was the piano accompanist for the Tulpehockenaires, a Christian men's quartet, and for Die Dolpehock Sanger Chor, the Pennsylvania German singing group that has performed monthly on BCTV for over 30 years. The Sanger Chor will sing at Edith's funeral.
She was active in Pennsylvania German organizations, serving on the Baerricks Kounty Fersommling Rawd and the West Berks Fersommling committee. She compiled the second edition of the Sing Schticker, a collection of Pennsylvania German songs, as a means of preserving the Pennsylvania German language and culture.
Edith taught all her children to read before they went to school and gave them piano lessons. She also began the family tradition of candy toppings on birthday cakes.
Edie was a founding member of the family club, the REA (Recreational Eaters of America). Her title was "Club Linguist and Napper" - a testament to her knowledge of the Pennsylvania German dialect and her love of afternoon naps after she retired.
Edith was predeceased by her husband Vernon Reifsnyder; her sister Anna Faust, and her brothers C. Sylvester and John Schaeffer.
Edith is survived by four children: Elizabeth (Betsy), Bernville; Daniel and his wife Beth, Lewistown, Pennsylvania; Anne and her husband Robert Ciraulo, Poughkeepsie, New York; and Mary and her husband Stanley Lessig, Vandalia, Ohio. Other survivors include five grandchildren, eleven great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Services will be on Saturday October 7th at 11 am in St. Thomas Church in Bernville with visitation beginning at 10 am until time of service in the St. Thomas Church Library. Rev. Dr. Daniel Lute will officiate the service.
Following the graveside service in St. Thomas Cemetery, there will be a light lunch at St. Thomas Church. Friends and family are invited to celebrate Edith's life at these gatherings.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Thomas Church, 536 Main Street, Bernville, PA 19506.
The Kirkhoff Funeral Home in Bernville is entrusted with the funeral arrangements.