Elizabeth Johnson Edwards

Elizabeth (Kitty) Johnson Edwards passed away on Saturday, November 1, 2014, at the age of 79, after a courageous battle with cancer. Kitty, as she was known to all, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on June 14, 1935. She was the daughter of Florence Clauss Coerdt and Frederick Ketchum Sawyer. She attended Hathaway Brown School in Shaker Heights, Ohio, graduating in 1953. She studied at the Cleveland Institute of Art under Paul Travis, taking classes in landscape and figure painting, watercolor, life drawing, and painting. These courses provided the foundation for her artistic career. She was a member of The Junior League of Cleveland, a group of women volunteers dedicated to community service. After high school, she attended Smith College. She and some of her classmates at Smith took the SS Andre Doria to participate in a Junior Year abroad program in Italy from 1955 to 1956.

Kitty married Arthur Johnson in 1960, and after several years in Novelty, Ohio, they moved to Clearwater, Florida. Kitty was an art instructor at The Dunedin Fine Art Center, in Dunedin, Florida for 27 years. Kitty's multi-media paintings reflect a deep love of nature's rhythms, colors, and forms. Her subject matter often included landscapes and coastal scenes. She spent several summers painting on Monhegan Island in Maine.

Kitty won numerous juried shows, and her paintings are represented in private and corporate collections here and abroad. For the last four years, she attended the Kanuga Watermedia Workshops in Hendersonville, North Carolina, and galleries in Hendersonville represent her paintings.

Kitty pursued many different interests. She enjoyed hiking in the mountains of North Carolina, as well as in many countries around the world. When she traveled, she often sketched landscapes for later use in the studio. She went to Lake Como, Italy in 2010 with a Smith study group. Kitty also taught ballet for several years. In 2012, she took up Zumba classes with an instructor from Tokyo, Japan. At that time, she was also becoming reacquainted with dance choreography. Kitty was a member of the Silvermont Ballroom Dance Club, and she enjoyed dancing there with her second husband Eddie.

Kitty was fond of animals, especially cats and dogs. Kitty and Eddie adopted their dog Trace in February of 2003, and they spent many hours walking in the woods around Brevard, North Carolina.

She is survived by her loving husband, Claude (Eddie) Edwards, of Brevard, her son Andy Johnson and his wife Susan of Tallahassee, Florida, her grandchildren Harold (Hal) Johnson and Naomi Johnson, her brothers Henry Coerdt and his wife Suni of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and Carl Coerdt and his wife Connie of Dover, New Hampshire, her nieces Ashley Coerdt, Whitney Chabot, Chapin Coerdt, and her nephew, Clinton Coerdt. She was predeceased by Arthur B. Johnson, her first husband of 30 years, and her brother, Frederick Clauss Sawyer.

A Memorial service will be held 11:00 AM, Thursday, November 13, 2014 in the Chapel of Moore Funeral Home. The family will receive friends following the service at Connestee Falls Clubhouse.

In lieu of flowers, Kitty has wished that donations be made to The Friends for Life Forever Farm, where her dear Beagle now happily lives, 405 Reid Siding Road, Lake Toxaway, NC, 28747 or P.O. Box 340, Sapphire, NC, 28774, 1- 828-508-2460.

To leave a condolence for the Edwards family, please visit "obituaries" at www.moore-fh.com .

Moore Funeral Home & Cremation Services are caring for the family.