Edna W. (Carlson) Beaton, 96, a longtime resident of Melrose passed away peacefully on Monday, April 3, 2023 after a short period of declining health.

Born in Arlington on August 28, 1926, Edna grew up in Malden, the daughter of Swedish immigrants. She graduated from Malden High School in 1944 and matriculated to Tufts University's Jackson College. She graduated from Tufts in 1948 majoring in French, and also studied at L'Ecole de Francais at Middlebury College in Vermont. She had a lifelong affinity with Tufts and attended reunion weekends and Boston Pops Tufts Night almost every year until shortly before her death.

After graduation, Edna worked for National Shawmut Bank, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, and as a corporate trainer and Business Office Supervisor for the New England Telephone & Telegraph Company for 10 years, always talking about working through the 1954 hurricanes: Carol and Edna.

In the 1960's she sacrificed her career to raise her two sons in Melrose, where she resided for 56 years. In the 1970's, Edna returned to work as a substitute language teacher (French, German, Spanish, and Italian) in the Melrose public schools and as a Spanish teacher at Everett High School. She also worked for Mary Kay cosmetics and the Arbitron Research Bureau.

Edna belonged to Bellevue Golf Club in Melrose since 1952, a span of 70 years. She was honored by Bellevue last year as the longest tenured member in the club's history. For many years she was a fixture in the women's 9-holer league. The Fall Fling was always her favorite tournament. She was an original member of the Bellevue swimming pool and enjoyed over 30 years relaxing at her "Melrose oasis".

Active in the community, and known for wearing her trademark hair bows, Edna was a member of the American Association of University Women, the Beethoven Society of Melrose, Friends of the Melrose Symphony Orchestra, Trinity Church Alter Guild, the Boston Tufts Club, and Tufts Senior Connection. She loved Cape Cod and the ocean, traveled throughout the U.S. and Europe, and spent many winters in Naples, Fla. Born the same year as Queen Elizabeth II, she loved anything to do with the British royals, and told stories about playing with her Princess Elizabeth paper dolls as a young girl.

Edna enjoyed musical theatre and loved going to the North Shore Music Theatre regularly for over 30 years. She loved watching professional golf on television, as well as her favorite 80's and 90's sitcoms. She was a Red Sox fan who enjoyed going to Fenway Park and told of going to see Ted Williams play. Each March she became enthusiastic about college basketball and enjoyed deliberating over her selections for the March Madness tournament.

Edna was the loving mother of Douglas Beaton and his wife Linda of Salem, N.H., and Eric Beaton and his wife Grace of Wakefield. Cherished grandmother of Kim Beaton and Gus Beaton of Salem, N.H. and Annika Beaton of Wakefield. Predeceased by a granddaughter, the late Melanie Beaton, and her longtime significant other, the late Richard Terhune.

Her family wishes to thank the doctors who contributed to her long life: Salil Midha, Ronald Sen, and Peter Reveno in Melrose; Mary Jane Houlihan, Michael Kent, and Stuart Berman at Beth Israel in Boston; and Dennis Leahy at Palomar Medical Center in Escondido, Cal.

Visiting hours will be from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 12, 2023 at Gately Funeral Home, 79 West Foster Street in Melrose. A funeral service will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church, 131 West Emerson Street, Melrose on Thursday, April 13th at 10:00 a.m., followed by a burial at Puritan Lawn Memorial Park in Peabody. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Edna's memory to: St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital at: www.stjude.org/donatetoday 1-800-608-8795 or Ocean Conservancy at: www.oceanconservancy.org/donate/honor-memorial-giving/ 1-800-519-1541