A lifetime area resident, Edna L. Markley, 86, died at 6:55 p.m. on Saturday, December 2, 2006, in the Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center, Plymouth.
      
       Born in North Liberty on February 17, 1920, Edna was the daughter of Thomas A. and Viola May Ullery Donathen.
      
       She was a 1938 graduate of North Liberty High School.
      
       On Christmas Eve, 1939, in the Pine Creek Church of the Brethren, Edna and Harold R. Markley were married. Harold died on December 14, 1987.
      
       Edna devoted her life to her family. She and her husband had an egg route in South Bend for many years, selling eggs that they gathered from their own flock of chickens.
      
       She enjoyed recipe books and cooking. One of her joys was preparing food for church functions and family gatherings. Her specialties were chicken casseroles and sugar cookies.
      
       She gardened and liked canning vegetables, sewing and quilting.
      
       Edna was a lifetime deaconess, and especially enjoyed working in the church nursery. She was also a member of the Ladies Aid Society of the Plymouth Church of the Brethren.
      
       She is survived by a daughter, a son and their spouses.
      
       They are: Lois (Larry) Miller, Plymouth, and Lowell (Judy) Markley, South Bend, Indiana.
      
       Two grandsons and two granddaughters also survive her death.
      
       They are granddaughters: Jane (Brian) Chupp of Plymouth and Amy Markley and her husband Mark Sneathen of Chicago, and grandsons, Brent (Sherry) Schafer of Plymouth and Dr. Jon C. (Carol) Markley of Granger. Four great-grandchildren also survive.
      
       Edna was preceded in death by her parents and her husband.
      
       Friends are invited to share their memories and celebrate the life of Edna Markley from 4 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, December 6, 2006, in the Johnson-Danielson Funeral Home, 1100 N. Michigan St., Plymouth, and Thursday for one hour prior to the services at the Plymouth Church of the Brethren..
      
       Pastor David Kerkove, pastor of the Plymouth Church of the Brethren, 1130 N. Michigan St., will officiate at funeral services for Edna at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, December 7, 2006.
      
       Burial will be in Oakhill Cemetery, Plymouth.
      
       Memorial gifts in Edna?s memory may be made to the Plymouth Church of the Brethren or The Center for Hospice of Marshall County.