Edna Gentry Geer, 95, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, died on Sunday, March 8, 2015.
Edna was the eighth of nine children, born to Newton and Rosa Gentry of Sale Creek. After graduating from Sale Creek High School in 1937, she was trained at Mrs. R.P. Abel’s School of Business in Dayton.
Her marriage to the late Jack Geer ended in divorce, and their daughter, Rosalie Geer Mirabile passed away in 1990. Her niece Jacquelyn Hogue Gentry of Glenn Dale, MD also preceded her in death.
In 1945, Edna went to New York City, where she graduated from the Traphagen School of Fashion. She pursued a long and successful career as a fashion designer, working with several clothing manufacturers, primarily in New York City, as well as with firms in Carlisle, PA; Chicago, IL; Mobile, AL; Dalton, GA; Fall River, MA and Montreal, Canada. Her designs appeared in the New York Times and in Vogue and Seventeen Magazines.
She returned to Tennessee in 1988, living in Chattanooga and continued to design and produce unique clothing. She created Cotton Ball gowns, wedding party ensembles, graduation formals, business and leisure clothing, children’s attire and other specialty fashions.
Edna is survived by four grandchildren, Robin Barton, Jennifer Barton Kobel, Lowell F. Barton, Jr. and Vito Mirabile; five great-grandchildren, all from the New York City area; and by her niece, Joyce Gann Fox of Chattanooga.
A memorial service with a celebration of Edna’s life will be at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 14, at Williamson & Sons Funeral Home. Burial will follow in Welsh-Rogers Cemetery.
Condolences and memories can be shared at www.williamsonandsons.com.
Arrangements are by Williamson and Sons Funeral Home, 8852 Dayton Pike, Soddy Daisy, TN 37379.