Cochran – Ester Jeanette Gilbert Edge passed away January 19, 2024, in Bonaire, Georgia, at the home of her son, Ricky Edge. She had been under Georgia Hospice Care since November 2023.

Funeral Services will be held Sunday, January 21, 2024, at 2:00 P.M., in the chapel of Mathis Funeral Home. The family will greet friends after the service at Mathis Funeral Home.

She will be laid to rest at Pulaski-Bleckley Memorial Gardens next to her husband of 48 years. The family will have a private graveside farewell.

Jeanette was born on February 15, 1927, at home in Dudley, Laurens County, Georgia as the youngest child of Geneva Haskins Gilbert and Drew Oliver Gilbert. She grew up in Laurens County and attended Buckhorn School. After the death of her parents, she went to live with her brother Emory and his wife Vera in Dodge County.

She married Rufus Eschol Edge on February 17, 1945. They moved to Cochran and then made their home on Lewis St in Cochran. Jeanette and Rufus attended Evergreen Baptist Church in Cochran. They later became charter members of Lakeview Baptist Church in Cochran, where she taught Sunday School and sang in the choir. She was the last living member of the Lakeview Charter group. She worked at L&H Shirt Factory in Cochran for 32 years. In her later retirement years, she kept busy singing with a group at First Baptist Church of Cochran. She volunteered at Willing Hands for 20 years.

Jeanette was preceded in death by her husband Rufus Eschol Edge. She was also preceded in death by her three brothers, Emory, Jack, and DC Gilbert, her three sisters, Mattie Snow, Corine Peacock, Dorothy Davis and her first granddaughter, Dina Edge Emore.

Survivors include her sons Larry Edge (Jan) and Ricky Edge (Susan); grandchildren Jennifer Matney (Greg), Steven Edge (Ibzan) and J.R. Morales; great grandchildren Teala Emore, Ryan Matney, Ilyana Edge, Hunter Matney, and Elowyn Edge; great-great grandchildren Camron George, Jazmine George, DeMarcus Williams, and Lyla Blackshear; and numerous niece and nephews.

Larry and Ricky would like to thank her extended family and many friends and neighbors who kept a watchful eye out for her in her later years.  This allowed her to live independently at home for most of her 97 years and to continue to mow her grass, daring a leaf to drop in her yard. The family would also like to give their warmest thanks to those who provided Jeanette with loving care and comfort during her final days.

In lieu of flowers, the family prefers donations to Lakeview Baptist Church, 203 Lakeview Church Rd, Cochran, GA 31014; Willing Hands, 122 N Second St, Cochran, GA 31014; or Georgia Hospice Care, 645 Tallulah Trail Suite 202, Warner Robins, GA 31088.