Edith Lea

Jenkins

Edith Lea Jenkins, 100, formerly of South Whitley, passed away in the company of family at 2:05 p.m. Tuesday, November 10, 2026, at Timbercrest Senior Living Community in North Manchester.

Born on February 11, 1926, in Wabash County, Indiana, she was a daughter of the late Calvin and Bessie (Kendal) Hippensteel. Growing up near Liberty Mills, she completed grade school and graduated from Chester High School in 1946.

On March 8, 1947, she married Cecil D. Jenkins. They made their home in southeastern Kosciusko County, raising three children. Cecil died on December 4, 2015. For the past eight years, Edith has lived at Timbercrest.

Edith was a full-time homemaker with a kind and caring heart. She helped her family and friends in any way needed, volunteered at her church, and pitched in at community social gatherings. She enjoyed gardening, growing both flowers and vegetables, and canning and freezing the produce. An accomplished seamstress, she made beautifully crafted quilts for all nine of her grandchildren. Edith and Cecil enjoyed traveling throughout the contiguous United States, but she was especially fond of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. She was an avid IU basketball fan. In her later years, Edith enjoyed playing games, especially bingo, working word-search and jigsaw puzzles, and coloring in adult coloring books, believing her work was good enough to sell.

She is survived by her children, Joe (Joetta) Jenkins of South Whitley, Sue (Daniel) Weicht of North Webster, and James (Lorene) Jenkins of South Whitley; grandchildren, Todd Jenkins, Ted Jenkins, Doug Jenkins, Christi Hedington, Amy Johnson, Quentin Jenkins, Celine Jenkins; step-grandchildren, Kelly Rockenbaugh and Gerin Brumbaugh; 11 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren.

She was also preceded in death by her sisters, Pauline Carter, Mabel Coble, and Josephine Hippensteel, and her brother, James Hippensteel.

The funeral service is at 1 p.m. Friday (Nov 13th) at Smith & Sons Miller Chapel, South Whitley, with visitation from 11 a.m. until the service at the funeral home. Burial is at the South Whitley Cemetery.

Memorials in Edith’s honor are to Heartland Hospice.