Edith Paro

Edith Paro, 99, Grand Forks, died Wednesday, September 23, 2009 in Valley Memorial Homes Eldercare Center. Edith Payton, the 5th born of 13 children, was born July 26, 1910 to Herbert and Eugenie (Hollis) Payton at Wayzata, Minnesota. Edith married Lyal St. John on August 14, 1927. He passed away in 1967. She married Clyde Paro in 1969. He passed away in 1978. She spent the majority of her life in the Fargo-Moorhead area, and moved to Grand Forks in 1991. She was a member of the Zion United Methodist Church in Grand Forks. Edith was an excellent seamstress and quilt maker, and had been employed by many of the Fur stores in the Fargo-Moorhead area. She loved cooking and baking, and took pride in her flower and vegetable gardens. She enjoyed her church activities, especially the apple pie and cinnamon roll baking, which she continued well into her eighties. She took pride in her 3 daughters and their extended families. She is survived by two daughters, Ruth Dienst, Park Rapids, MN, and Eugenie (Grant) Jensen, Grand Forks; a brother, William (Esther) Payton, Olympia, WA; sister, Mary Burleigh, Chateau Thoiry, France; 14 grandchildren, 30 great-grandchildren, 17 great great-grandchildren, and 1 great great great-granddaughter. She is preceded in death by her parents, two husbands; a daughter, Harriet Miller; sisters, Lydia Seward, Rose Gee, Patricia Payton, Lucia Towns, Florence Cargill and Mildred Waughtel; brothers, George Payton, Alfred Payton, Richard Payton and Douglas Payton; and a great-great granddaughter, Sophia Woodrow. In lieu of flowers, the family prefers memorials to Zion United Methodist Church, or the Hospice of the Red River Valley.