Eesley · Wildermuth

Edla 'Eddie' (Scaife) Eesley

also known as Edna Scaise (1942 newspaper spelling); Edla 'Eddie' Scaife (Dan's 2018 obituary spelling — almost certainly correct)

Edla “Eddie” Scaife was from Cleveland, Ohio when she married George Edburn “Bus” Eesley. She is named once in each of two newspaper obituaries this archive holds:

  • The 1942 Fremont News-Messenger obituary for her husband George, where she appears as “the wife, formerly Miss Edna Scaise, of Cleveland.”
  • Her son Dan’s 2018 obituary, where she appears as “Edla ‘Eddie’ Scaife,” in the list of those who predeceased him.

The spelling difference is almost certainly a 1942 newsroom error: “Scaife” is a real and well-circulated Cleveland-Pittsburgh-area surname (the Scaife family of Pittsburgh produced several notable industrialists), while “Scaise” is not a recognised English-American surname pattern. The 2018 spelling is treated here as authoritative.

She had at least three children with George:

  • Richard Eesley — predeceased his brother Dan.
  • Jane Eesley — died tragically in her youth, per Dan’s 2018 obituary phrasing.
  • Daniel Edburn “Dan” Eesley (1931–2018) — the San Francisco engineer and 50-year SF Symphony donor.

She was widowed at George’s death in 1942 when Dan was ten. Her own birth and death dates, parents, and biographical particulars are pending the next surfacing of family records. The Scaife / Cleveland connection is worth pursuing separately for the Cleveland-side family history.

This page is a stub.

Sources: George E. Eesley obituary, Fremont News-Messenger, 5 June 1942; Daniel Edburn Eesley obituary, 2018.

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